


Of Two Worlds

by SweetSilentSteps



Series: Alternate Timeline [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Eventual Romance, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2017-01-08
Packaged: 2018-08-15 11:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8054014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetSilentSteps/pseuds/SweetSilentSteps
Summary: Whilst on a trip to deliver supplies and grant aid to the outer ring planets, the Enterprise picks up a distress signal from a planet that's believed to be uninhabited. Upon further investigation they find more than they any of them could have bargained for.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfiction I've written for Star Trek. I'm working on improving my writing for the best reading experience possible. I hope you enjoy :)

Kirk wasn't sure what the problem was. He was completely safe dangling with his legs from the cooling tube, whilst fixing a panel that was usually quite difficult to get to. Unless you were Jim Kirk of course. Down below he could hear Bones raising his voice at both Scotty and himself. The engineer was trying his hardest to avoid the doctor. 

"Bridge to Kaptain Kurk."

Scotty broke away from McCoy to answer the conn.

"Scotty here, captains listenin'." 

"Kaptain, we have received our orders from the admiral."

That was enough to make Kirk climb down from his perch, much to McCoy's relief.

"Kirk here. Where we heading Chekov?"

"The orders are to ship supplies and aid to ze outer rim planets sir."

"Got it, see you on the bridge in a few." And with that Kirk flicked off the conn and turned to Scotty as he threw him cloth to wipe the grime off his hands. It was back to being the captain now. He had to look semi decent when he made it to the bridge. McCoy wasted no time in beginning to chastise him. The recklessness of him, the captain, hanging from a piece of dangerous equipment without any sort of harness. Kirk waved him down with a laugh. He climbed enough trees when he was younger to know what would and wouldn't hold his weight.

Bones had forced him to shower before he was aloud onto the bridge. By that time, the rest of his crew was already in place and waiting for him. His orders began before he'd even made it halfway to his chair.

"Chekov, ship wide broadcast, let 'em know what's going on. Mr Sulu, set our course for Starbase 6." He slowed his steps as he came to his chair, settling himself in. It was only after the chorus of 'yes sir's that someone approached him. He felt the presence behind him before he noticed the blue shirt from the corner of his eye.

"Yes Mr Spock?" He queried his first as Spock came to a stop beside him. He was proper as ever, hands folded neatly behind his back.

"The good doctor was up here just before your arrival with some rather colourful language about your visit to engineering."

Ah. So Bones had ratted him out.

"He also mentioned you were partaking in a rather dangerous activity."

"I was giving Scotty a hand Spock, no harm in that."

"Hanging from the internal cooling pipes without a harness is hardly wise captain." 

Kirk sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He would get Bones back for this.

"If I promise not to do it again, will you forgive me?" Kirk asked with a quirk of his lips. Now it was Spock's turn to sigh.

"Even if you were to make that promise sir, it would last precisely three point four hours before you were to break it again. Perhaps even less than that." Kirk had to laugh at that. He slapped a hand on Spock's chest with a resounding thud as he made contact.

"Have I even mentioned how fun it is to have you around?" Spock's eyebrow twitched towards his hairline. He shook his head and made his way back to his station, the captains laughter following him back. It was good to see the captain in such good spirits, especially after his ordeal with Khan. 

It had taken a while for him to get back on his feet and of course that hadn't sat well with him. McCoy had to, more than once, render him unconscious so he would rest. Then the funeral of Admiral Pike had wrecked him again. It was hard to watch his friend suffer. But Jim Kirk wasn't one to sit around moping for long. He'd buried himself in work, helping out cadets back at Starfleet. Not to mention his many visits to engineering to help out Mr Scott. Perhaps this mission would help his coping progress further. 

Once they hit warp it wasn't long to the Starbase. Spock made sure the supplies were counted twice and packed once. Scotty also made sure to get his hands on a few parts for the engine, just to be safe rather than sorry. Now hauling their cargo, they set out for the outer rim. 

"It will take us approximately two weeks to reach destination Kaptain." Chekov reported as the door slid open and Spock stepped back onto the bridge. 

"All supplies accounted for Captain."

"Good work Chekov, Spock."

"Captain." The two men echoed back before Spock took his station again. 

_____________________

Several hours passed, and three shift changes occurred before Uhura noticed something strange. She fiddled with a few switches, pressing the earpiece further into her ear in an attempt to make out the sound. When she finally got a good lock on it, her eyes widened then narrowed in confusion. She spun around in her chair. 

"Sulu, hail the captain, he'll want to hear this."

Ten minutes later Uhura had not only the captain, but Spock and McCoy crowded around her work station. The three had been in the mess hall eating dinner together. 

"I picked up a distress signal not too long again. With some help from Chekov we managed to locate the signals origin. It's a planet not to far from here, Meta V. By all Starfleet records it's uninhabited."

"Could be a ship wreck...a crash landing..." Kirk mused, looking over Uhuras findings. 

"There is the possibility it is a trap sir." Spock pointed out.

"But if there's people stuck down there we should help them." Bones said, scratching his jaw,

"We must look at this situation logically Dr McCoy. The planet is uninhabited and this area in space is quiet by all means of the word. Not to mention that the likelihood of there being any survivors of such a crash is eight point-"

"Alright you green blooded hobgoblin, no need to throw numbers at me." McCoy said throwing his hands up in mock defeat, to which the Vulcan twitched an eyebrow at him. Kirk meanwhile had been studying the charts. 

"Mr Chekov, are the outer rim planets in dire need of the supplies we have on board?"

"No Kaptain. More a precaution action." Kirk grinned. 

"Mr Sulu, set our course for Meta V. Uhura, see if you can make anything more of the transmission, Bones-"

"I'll prepare medical for any injured. Just don't let yourself become one of the injured Jim." 

"Noted. Mr Spock." 

"Yes Captain."

"You and I will lead the away team down to the planet once Uhura has located the source of the signal. Call security I want three of their best ready for deployment."

"Understood." 

"Kirk to engineering, Scotty you there?"

"Aye captain."

"Had a bit of a change of course. Meet in the transporter room in twenty minutes."

"Aye sir...GET DOWN FROM THERE." Kirk cut off the conn with a small laugh. 

"Chekov, how long until we reach Meta V?"

"Around thirty minutes Kaptain." 

That was just enough time for everything to get sorted out into place.

"Right, Sulu you have the conn."

__________________________

Thirty minutes later, they had pulled out of warp near Meta V. Spock was waiting with Mr Scott and three security personal when Kirk arrived. 

"Uhura located the source of the signal, seems like someone did crash. Phasers set to stun. This is just a bit of recon to check for any survivors."

They took their places on the pads, phasers drawn. 

"Energise."

With a flash they appeared down to the surface. It was not quite what they had been expecting. They had materialised in a sort of a rainforest area. The overhead canopyfrom the trees blocking out most of the sunlight from above. The sun still managed to reach the ground through small sun spots, scattered around the area. Spock had already pulled out his tricorder and was checking the nearest tree. Ahead there were a few broken trees, marking the downward path of the shuttle. Spock appeared beside the captain. Without a word the two men started forwards in unison towards the ship. The security detail trailing along behind. When they were a little closer, Kirk motioned for the group to fan out and look for any hints of survivors. 

"How long do you think it's been here?" Kirk spoke in a lower tone than usual.

"The fauna around the crash has begun to regrow, I would surmise at least two weeks since it has crashed." Spock replied in a matter of fact voice as he knelt to examine said plant life. The likelihood of finding survivors then just decreased significantly. Kirk wandered away from the crash sight, following what looked like a set of footprints. When Spock looked up from the ground, Kirk had vanished from sight. The Vulcan sighed, but felt a hint of worry rattle within him as he stood. 

"Captain?" There was no answer of course. Kirk had a bad habit of wandering off but at least Spock often knew how to find him. He followed around the edge of the ship, noting the inside had been stripped for parts. It was then he noticed the footprints in the dirt. Fresh even. He hurried his step to follow after them as they led into the denser trees.

"Captain?" Spock called again as he hoisted himself over a particularly large log. Ahead he could finally see the faint shimmer of a golden shirt. Kirk was leaning over to examine something on the ground.

"Captain." Spock moved through the thicket, heading for his side. Seeming to hear him, Kirk stood and turned. 

"Spock wait!" He threw out his arm in an attempt to get the Vulcan to stop but it was too late. Spock didn't have a moment to react before he was suddenly jerked off his feet. His head smacked against the ground roughly as he was dragged up. It took a few moments for the stars in front of his eyes to clear before he could look at his situation. He seemed to have stepped into a rather crude contraption. The target, aka himself, hoisted up above the ground by the ankle on series of ropes. Whoever had built this was clever, that much he had to resign himself to.

That was when laughter filled his ears. Kirk was all but on the ground laughing at his first officers current predicament. At least he gathered now what Kirk had been looking at on the ground.

"Captain, as amusing to you as this may be, I fear all the blood rushing to my head is hazardous for my health." With a chuckle, Kirk stepped over to a tree and tugged a rope from behind it. 

"Alright Mr Spock, let's get you down." He had just begun to lower his first officer, when several life forms jumped from all angles around them. Kirk spun on the spot, trying to take them all in at once as they surrounded them. Their weapons were crude at best, tied together pieces of wood, metal and rock. They all were wearing hooded cloaks, hiding their identities from sight. Well this was just great, point to Spock for suggesting ambush.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey now, hey now..." The captain said. He kept one hand firm on the rope that was stopping Spock from smashing into the ground.

"Who are you?" The voice that spoke was young, male, and pubescent. Kirk narrowed his eyes, scanning all the cloaked figures around them. All of them were rather short. He counted ten in total. Ten against two.

"Are you guys...children?" Kirk asked incredulous, seeming a little unbelieving they had gotten jumped by kids.

"Terry look, that ones Vulcan!" A small female voice called from near Spock as she prodded him gently with her spear. Spock didn't react much beyond a small eyebrow raise.

"Captain, perhaps we should assess what they want."

"Right..uh..."

"You're a captain?" The male voice spoke again as he pointed his spear a little closer to Kirk.

"Yes. Captain Kirk of the _U.S.S Enterprise_ at your service."

"We received a distress signal from this planet." Spock continued, clasping his arms behind his back in his usual demeanour, despite still being upside down.

"We came to offer our aid to any survivors." Kirk continued, looking around at the crowd.

Finally, the boy named Terry, lowered his hood. He was just into his teens, red haired and freckles like stars across his face. He glanced around at the rest of the children and lowered his weapon.

"How long have you guys been here?" Kirk asked, noting the dirt smudged across the child.

"Two weeks maybe? We're not really sure anymore..."

"Two point oh five six weeks to be precise." Another of the children slid back their hood revealing a young Vulcan boy. "Captain, perhaps you should release this brother of mine so we may talk further on the subject. Our encampment is precisely located one point nine kilometres north west of this location."

Kirk seemed a little taken aback. But he lowered Spock to the ground with ease before helping his first officer back to his feet. The children seemed to have accepted they were there to help by then. Several more of them removed their hoods and happily chatting starting to lead them to the camp. Kirk made sure to get the three security guys back on the ship. A few children were no threat to them and if they could survive, there couldn't be anything extremely dangerous here.

The young Vulcan boy had slowed his pace to fall into step beside Spock. For a moment they exchanged a glance before the child held out his hand to the elder male. It was an offer to get a glimpse into his experiences. And perhaps he was also seeking some comfort from one of his own kind. Spock took his hand carefully, letting the child's emotions sweep across his mind. He was tired, scared and hungry. They had only just survived the crash and then had to struggle to survive on a planet they knew nothing about. Spock squeezed the child's hand tightly for a moment, silently trying to comfort him.

Meanwhile Kirk had picked up two of the younger children, carrying them in his arms with ease. They giggled and chirped away. They informed him that there were around twenty children in total with varying ages. The eldest was a girl named Victoria who had taken upon herself to look after each them. The way they spoke of her, Kirk could tell they all adored her and looked up to her. He was looking forward to meeting her. Perhaps finding out what had happened for a bunch of children to end up on such a planet as this.

As they came upon 'the base', Kirk and Spock found themselves rather impressed. The tree they had settled in was almost like a cylinder with a flat part that the branches grew up and around. It would protect them from most of the weather, and they were well hidden from any outside threats. The children showed Kirk and Spock where the entrance was. A simple rope ladder well hidden in a bunch of bushes. They let a few of the children scramble up first before they followed, clambering through the branches to reach the base.

A few makeshift tents scattered the area, along with a thrown together hut from whatever branches they found. A large campfire was marked by the rock circle in the centre of the space. Over the far left was what looked like a bunch of machinery. Most likely whatever they'd stripped from within the crashed ship. Kirk turned to glance at Spock as the man came to a stop beside him, taking in their surroundings.

"They've done well haven't they?" He questioned his first with a smirk. Spock twitched an eyebrow at him before nodding his agreeance. For a bunch of children, they had done well. Terry was the last up, pulling the branches back into place. He ran straight for the machinery pile.

"Victoria!"

There came a loud bang, like someone smacking their head against hard metal.

"Terry..." A voice growled in response. Kirk and Spock followed after the young male. A pair of legs stuck out from what used to be the engine of the ruined shuttle.

"How many times man? No. Yelling. You wanna attract that thing from the other day back here?" The voice continued to grumble as Terry stopped by their work station.

"But Vic, the signal, someone came."

There was silence for a moment before another bang.

"Ah god damn it all to hell." With a force of strength, Victoria shoved herself out from under the engine and sat up. Like all the rest of the children she was dirty and disheveled, her hair hanging down around her face. She looked at Kirk first, then to Spock. Her eyes narrowed.

"Starfleet huh? Thank god." She sighed and then hoisted herself to her feet. "I was starting to think no one would ever find us. I've been trying to get this engine up and running for three days now so we can get off this hell hole..." She rubbed her hands together. "Do you have doctors on your ship? We have a few sick and injured. Not to mention we're all kinda starving."

"How have you survived down here for so long?" Spock asked curiously, looking around.

"Spock, the questions can wait. Let's get them up to the _Enterprise_ first." Kirk said, patting Spock's shoulder before he turned away to speak to the ship. Victoria was watching Spock closely.

"There were food packs on board the ship in case of a crash. We ate them sparingly whilst searching for other food. Waters not had to come by but boiling it takes a while." She said with a shrug.

"You have survival tactics."

"Yeah, I took a few scouts lessons as a kid. Went camping a few times with my uncle. I'm used to roughing it but the rest of these guys...their only kids."

"You say that as if you are not a child yourself."

"I'm seventeen, I have a few years on most of these guys." Victoria crossed her arms as Kirk came back.

"Sick bay is ready for anything, we'll send up the worst cases first."

"The worst is T'Koric." Victoria led them over to one of the tents, pulling aside the curtain. Inside they could see the young Vulcan girl sleeping. "Damn creature jumped us when we're were returning from collecting berries. She took a hit but she's a tough kid." Kirk held the curtain open as Victoria slipped in and picked up the small girl carefully. He caught a look at his friends face, the burning in the mans eyes.

"I will take her." Spock offered once Victoria had removed her from the tent. Carefully she passed the girl off to him. The rest of the tents held sick children as well. At least half of them had fevers and chills, but could stand long enough to get teleported back. It took several trips to get all twenty of the children up to sick bay. Victoria insisted on being the last to beam up, wanting everyone else to get out first.

It was chaos in sickbay when Kirk, Spock and Victoria finally beamed up. McCoy was rushing around from bed to bed. Throwing orders around, he only stopped briefly to check pulses and charts before he moved on.

"Bones." McCoy turned at the sound of his name to see Kirk with a hand on Victoria's shoulder. "This is the last one, you got room for her?"

McCoy barked an order at one of the nurses to handle it. The woman took Victoria over to a spare bed and began looking her over.

"I suggest we return to the bridge captain and let the good doctor do his work unhindered."

"Yeah, you're right." Bones didn't need any more pressure and since they weren't harmed. it would be fine. With that they left the sick bay to its work, heading back to the bridge.

________________________

It was a good few hours before Bones called him over the conn. They had managed to stabilise all the children. None were leaving his sight for a good while. All of them having suffered some form of dehydration and starvation. Spock followed Kirk back to a sick bay, leaving Sulu with the conn. Upon arriving, there was an extreme lack of much movement. All the children were fast asleep. They lay everywhere, the monitors behind them beeping along with their steady vitals.

"I can't thank you enough Dr McCoy." It was Victoria's voice, drifting out from Bones's office.

"Now enough of that darlin'. You should be out there resting with the rest of them." Kirk lent against the doorframe, Spock rigid as ever beside him.

"Jim, help me convince this stubborn young thing." Bones requested, seeing the two men standing at his doorway. "She's suffered enough and needs to rest."

"I assure you my only concern is those of the other children. I'm fine, I can take it."

Bones groaned.

"Who does she sound like?" He complained, pushing himself up from his chair.

"Victoria, it would be unwise of you to not recuperate your strength. You have suffered severe circumstances, but you are safe now. Safe to rest." Spock said calmly. The doctor was right, she sounded a lot like Kirk. She looked at Spock for a moment, gauging him.

"I thought Vulcans didn't care?"

"A misunderstanding. We are capable of feeling, we just choose not to."

For a moment Kirk had a feeling from the look in her eyes, she might just stand and smack his first officer. Instead she broke, burying her face into her hands and sobbing. Kirk glanced at Spock before he moved over to her, reaching out to embrace her in a hug.

"It's okay..." He hummed. He held her until her tears ceased and she was fast asleep against him, exhausted from her ordeal. Kirk carried her to the bed Bones made out for her. The three men retreated for the office again so Kirk and Spock could hear the full report the doctor had for them.

_____________________

It was a full four days before McCoy allowed any of the children to wander outside Sickbay. Of course, he didn't seem to realised some of them had been doing it long before he let them. Spock had caught Terry wandering around the ship six times. The captain caught him another four. McCoy surmised he had a bit of wanderlust. A few of the children were released from sickbay, having reached a standard the doctor was happy with. Kirk had already reorganised several rooms to cater for their numbers, trying to make them comfortable. Even with four to a one person room. He tried to offer Victoria a room of her own given her older age, but she faced him down. She had gotten used to sharing. Kirk couldn't blame her for not wanting to be alone.

He made sure to visit them all at every opportunity. They all seemed to have grown attached to him and he was happy for that. Sometimes they read stories, or he would play some music for them. Sometimes Spock would find him buried beneath six children, wrestling and laughing. The children were happy and healthy again.

Terry had taken an interest in the engineering part of the ship. Often found in places with Keenser by Scotty, who would promptly yell at them both. Eventually, so long as he promised to behave, Scotty let him trail around behind him. Whilst not understanding a word of what the Scotsman said, he enjoyed it anyway.

The Vulcan boy, whose name Spock discovered was Skon, had taken to following him around like a shadow. He understood the need for the boy to be near his own kind in a ship filled with humans and other aliens. Had he not been Vulcan, Spock would have insisted he detest his behaviour. Once the young Vulcan girl T'Koric, was well enough to rise from her bed, she took to followed him around as well. It was most amusing to Kirk to see Spock followed around by two children as he went about his duties. It made his heart ache a little at the thought of Spock one day having his own children. But it wasn't his place to say such a thing. And he never would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't realise until like seven chapters into writing this thing that Spock's grandfather was named Skon as well. The more you know I guess. Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

It was two days later when Starfleet hailed them to find out why they hadn't arrived in the outer rim yet. Uhura pulled Admiral Archer up on the view screen at the captains request.

"Kirk, what is the reason for your delay?" His brow furrowed. 

"Admiral Archer, I'm afraid we had a bit of delay but we'll be arriving in the outer rim very shortly I assure you."

"That doesn't answer my question Kirk."

"Mr Spock, could you please call up Miss Victoria."

The last few days all the children had cleaned up well after their ordeal. Victoria had been rather quiet though, not talking to many, and taking her meals in her room. Spock theorised it was simply hormones. Kirk wondered if it because of her breakdown in front of them. 

She was very prompt, arriving on the bridge dressed in casual starfleet attire, black skirt and long sleeved pull over. The rest of the children had been more difficult to dress as they were younger, smaller. Somehow she had gotten her hands on some makeup, hiding all the residue bruising on her skin. Her fringe had been cut back above her delicately filled in eyebrows. Only now could they see the warm chocolate eyes that scanned the room as she paused by the nearest console.

"You called for me?" She asked, looking to Kirk, only briefly glancing at the screen. 

"Yes. Could you tell Admiral Archer here why we're delayed on reaching the outer rim?"

The girl stared at him for a moment before she turned to the view screen, seeming to pile her courage. Without seeming to think on it, she rested her arms behind her back in a position resembling Spock. She bowed slightly.

"Admiral. I'm sorry we have delayed your ship but...we were in dire need of help and they were the only ones who came." She stood up straight again.

"You see we were all captured by slavers. They were transporting us to the outer rim to work as slaves on one of the mining planets. However I managed to disable their warp drive after escaping my confinement. They abandoned ship not long after we got caught in Meta V's gravity. I managed to get us to the ground without too much injury but we were stranded. Once I figured out how to get the distress beacon going, I set it up to full signal, hoping someone would find us before it was too late. Two weeks passed and then your ship here found us. They saved our lives sir."

"How many children were on board the ship?"

"Eight humans, two Vulcans, one Aaamazzarite, three Bajorans, one Denobulan, three El-Aurian, and one Orion, sir." Victoria spoke without hesitation, like she had been keeping those figures in the back of her mind all through their abandonment. The admiral sighed and rubbed his head.

"Very well Kirk. Just make sure you get to the outer rim sooner rather than later." Kirk grinned.

"Aye sir, Kirk out." The view screen clicked out, showing them the inky blackness of space once again. He then turned to Victoria. 

"You know it's against Starfleet regulation to lie to an Admiral." He pointed out and Victoria flinched slightly. He was sharper than she had thought. Spock stood, shifting over to behind the captain.

"There are twenty new passengers aboard this ship, you only labeled nineteen." Kirk stood himself, crossing his arms. Victoria trembled. 

"I'll see myself out." She all but ran for the door. Spock went to follow her, stopped only by the captains hand.

"Let her go, she'll tell us when she's ready."

___________________

Later in the evening, the children had piled into the mess hall with the rest of the staff off duty. Kirk had settled himself among their ranks, ever the kid himself. The only children missing from the table where the two Vulcan children, who were off with Spock meditating. Victoria hadn't been seen out of her room since the bridge. Terry sat across from the captain, munching down on his food.

"So Terry.." He started, drawing the boys attention. "Do you know what Victoria is?"

Terry swallowed his mouthful. "Um...a girl...sir?" He said unsure. Kirk chuckled.

"No I mean like...how you and I are human, what's she?" Terry thought on that one.

"She...she never really told us sir...but she's from earth. That's all I know."

It was at that point the Vulcans joined them, Kirk forcing Spock to sit with them and eat. He was reluctant at first, but then T'Koric took his hand, letting him know silently that she wanted him to stay. She hadn't spoken a peep since waking, only communicating through her hands. He relented, settling himself down between Kirk and T'Koric. He glanced up and down the table.

"Victoria has not joined us?" He inquired to shaking heads.

"She's taking her meals in her room..." Terry answered, poking at his food with his fork. 

____________________ 

However when Kirk went looking for her he found her shared room empty. It prompted him to wander the ship. He found her in one of the observation decks, alone, staring up dreamily at the stars. Hearing his footsteps behind her, she snapped from her trance and turned to see who it was. It seemed by her expression she hadn't been expecting him. She turned back to the viewing screen.

"Can I help you captain?"

"Just noticed you weren't in your room." He shrugged moving over to settle down on the ground beside her. "Thought you might like some company."

"I do like to be on my own sometimes captain."

"Like when your eating?"

She frowned.

"The others are worried about you. They won't say it aloud but they are."

"I'm not the only one not saying things aloud captain." She shot back with an almost coy grin. Now it was his turn to frown.

"What do you mean?" 

"I've seen the way you watch Mr Spock. Your eyes follow him, you touch him despite knowing he's a Vulcan. You like him...don't you..."

Kirks smile curled. "You're a clever one aren't you?" He remarked patting her on the head. She flinched away from the touch. 

"Please refrain from doing that." She asked turning her head away. He sighed.

"Yeah, him being my first it puts me in a weird situation. But I can ignore my feelings for the good of the ship and the crew. Just like you ignored your own pain until everyone else was taken care of."

She gave him a thin smile.

"What's going to happen to us captain?"

"Well we can't just dump you on a planet in the outer rim. If you and your crew don't mind we'll probably take you with us back to earth." He stretched out his legs in front of him, leaning back on his palms. "Then from there we'll have Starfleet get you back to your homes."

"Thank you....thank you..." She sighed a breath of relief. It seemed she been a bit worried about where they would go next. Kirk glanced at her once again, seeming to notice something himself.

"Your eyebrows are drawn on..." 

She frowned.

"Your point being?"

"Why do you need to draw them on? Do you not have eyebrows?" He continued, pulling his legs back under him to watch her.

"No I have eyebrows...I just don't like them...so I draw on ones that suit me better..."

"Hmmp." He wasn't content with that answer but to each their own. 

"Hey...can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." Kirk made a gun with his fingers, pretending to shoot the sky above them.

"What if you can't find the families of the children?"

Kirk's hand dropped, as did his head.

"Well...I hadn't thought that far." He looked to her with a grin. "It's why I keep Spock around you know. I'm more of a 'in the moment' kinda guy."

Victoria blew a piece of hair from her face in slight annoyance.

"But I know one thing. None of you will ever end up with a family who doesn't care about you. I don't care what strings I have to pull, I'm not letting another child end up in a terrible foster situation." 

After what he had gone through as a child, he'd promised himself any child he could help, he would. Realising he was treading down a dark path in his mind, he grinned and changed subject.

"You much of a music fan?" 

"A bit...Your guitar playing is nice to listen to."

"I could teach you if you wanted." He offered. She blinked.

"You would...do that? Don't you have like...other commitments? I mean...you are the captain..."

"Pssh," He waved a hand at her. "I'm not always needed on the bridge. And I want to make sure all of you feel comfortable and safe here."

"You have been very welcoming to us."

"So whatdya say? I teach you some guitar, and you start being a bit more social with my crew?"

She considered him for a moment. 

"Very well captain."

"It's Jim."

"Very well sir."

"Just Jim."

"If you insist Kirk." A grin split out across her face as Kirk tugged a pillow off the couch beside him and flung it at her. She laughed and blocked it, pushing it to the ground. That was a face she should be showing more often. She was young, she should be happy like that all the time. He had a feeling he and Victoria were going to get on rather well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone whose commented, subscribed and given kudos so far on this story, oh my, it makes me so happy to see people enjoying something I've written. This story is turning out to be a long haul, and with the other one I've started, it could get interesting. But updates should be around weekly like they have been. Thank you for reading!

Once again Spock had picked up his two Vulcan stragglers. This time of day he was heading for the laboratories for their recent research.

"Commander Spock, may I pose a question to you?" Skon asked politely, keeping his steps even behind Spock.

"Very well. What is it you would like to know?" Spock glanced back at his young companions.

"You have allowed T'Koric and I to follow you around willingly for six point four three days on my count and three point one eight on T'Koric's count."

"I am aware of the fact you have attached yourself to me for the express purpose of following me."

"Why have you not attempted to halt our attempts? Do you find comfort or annoyance in our presence with you?"

His words made Spock pause in his steps. He turned back to them as they stopped as well. It took a moment to find his words.

"As a young boy I found comfort in following my father around when he would permit me to. As such, so long as you continue to behave, I have no qualms about letting you continue your actions."

Skon looked surprised for a moment, then excitement started to bubble in his face before it was shoved aside.

"Thank you commander." He said with a small respectful bow. For a moment Spock deliberated then placed a hand a top his head. The touch was brief, but perhaps it would help the young one find a sense of peace. T'Koric stepped around from behind Skon, suddenly holding up her arms to Spock.

"I believe she wishes for you to carry her." Skon said, despite the fact it was a logical assumption. Spock knelt down to make eye contact with her.

"Only until we reach the laboratory."

She nodded in understanding, letting out a small giggle as he hoisted her into his arms. Easily, he rested her on his hip, as he had seen earth women do. Perhaps it was his male form but the motion felt somewhat awkward. Yet T'Koric seemed content, curling her head down into his shoulder. He swept off again, Skon following close behind. On their way, they came across Kirk, who had his guitar slung across his back.

"Captain."

"C'mon Spock we're off duty." Kirk said, smacking him lightly in his free shoulder. "Sides, when did you become such a parental figure." Spock raised an eyebrow at his friends teasing tone.

"After the destruction of Vulcan it is only logical that our kind band together in such ways-"

"Spock, I'm only teasing you."

"I am aware...Jim." His lip twitched into a brief smile. Kirk grinned.

"You kids have fun with Spock." He patted Skon on the shoulder.

"Fun is unlikely. Scientific discovery is far more interesting." Skon replied to which the captain simply laughed.

"He really could be your kid."

"As Victoria could be yours." Spock shot back. Kirk laughed and waved them on, making his way down the corridor again. Spock remained still for a moment, watching the captains retreating back. Meanwhile Skon was watching him.

"Fascinating." He remarked and Spcok raising an eyebrow. "Your pupils dilated to four times their usual size."

Spoke choked. It was the first time anyone else had noticed the way he watched when the captain moved away. Or at least, the first to tell him they had noticed.

"It would be best if you kept such remarks to yourself in the future." In other words if he spoke of it to anyone else Spock would be blind with fury. He had spent months putting very strict control on his emotions for the captain. He wasn't about to have that compromised by the observation of a young child. He started off again towards the labs, intent on getting some work done before he found himself in a deeper pit than he wanted to be. Skon, tucking away this new information, hurried after him, still wanting to stay close to the Vulcan.

__________________

Today he was heading for the botany laboratory, where Mr Sulu was already tending to his plants. Many on the ship were well aware of the green thumb the helmsman had. He greeted Spock as he entered, before smiling, amused at the fact he had the two Vulcan children with him again. Spock placed T'Koric back on her feet, but she gripped the side of his pant leg instead, forcing him to move a bit slower than usual.

"Mr Sulu."

"Commander. I see you've picked up a few stragglers." The helmsman smirked, returning to stroking the stalk on the ridiculously large fern that sat in front of him.

"Is it permitted for them to wander?"

"So long as they don't break anything." Sulu said with a small shrug. Skon stepped away from Spock to hoist himself up onto the chair beside Sulu.

"What is this intriguing fauna?" Sulu grinned and launched into an explanation, the young Vulcan happy to sit there and listen. The boy was lapping up all the information he could about all the strange and new things around him. It would do him so good or so he thought. Spock made his way over to one of the computers, setting T'Koric on a stool beside him. Without fully realising at first, he had adapted well to the presence of the children beside him where he went. Whether it would turn out to be a bad thing he pushed to the back of his mind before one of the children could find it.

The three Vulcans spent the rest of the afternoon there, Sulu leaving for his shift on the bridge at some point. Skon to move back over to Spock. He found that at some point he had shifted back into Vulcan, conversing back and forth with Skon about what he was doing and the tests he was running. As chief science officer it was his duty to know what studies were happening. Eventually there came a call over the conn.

"Kirk to Spock, come in Mr Spock."

Skon flicked on the conn for him.

"Yes Captain?"

"Bones wants to take another look at T'Koric. Figured she'd be with you. Mind bringing her down to medical?"

"We shall be prompt captain." Spock reported, Skon flicked off the conn. The three rose, T'Koric taking hold of Spocks hand. She wanted to know why she was returning to medical. She was only young and perhaps her injuries had been more than McCoy had thought.

They arrived to the sight of the Doctor waiting for them, along with Kirk and Victoria. T'Koric only then released Spock to run to Victoria, and place their hands together.

"He only wants to check your wound sweetie, then you can go play some more with Mr Spock and Skon." Victoria promised before handing her off to McCoy. She didn't seem to happy about the arrangement but went quietly, knowing kicking up a fuss would get her nowhere.

"Victoria, may we speak a moment." Skon surprised them all with his sudden request. Even she was taken back. She glanced at Kirk, who nodded his okay, before she followed the young Vulcan out the door. Spock managed to give him a warning glance, before turning back to the captain.

"You were with Miss Victoria." Spock noted calmly.

"Yeah...I'm teaching her how to play a bit of guitar. I mean it's not easy but...I think she just needs something else to focus on."

"You believe her mind is clouded."

"Well we don't know what went on down there. She is young after all, whether she chooses to see that or not." Kirk crossed his arms and frowned. "I dunno Spock...something is just...off....with her."

"I believe I know what you mean captain. She has acted in a strangely bizarre pattern despite her obvious outward nature. Perhaps there is more to her than we anticipated."

"Hm. Maybe we should swap tomorrow."

"Captain?"

"I'll hang out with the Vulcans and you see if you can figure out Victoria."

"That would be unwise sir."

"Why?"

"I do believe T'Koric will not be parted so easily from myself."

"I reckon I can convince her." At that moment Bones reappeared, guiding T'Koric along beside him. She seemed much more comfortable with the doctor now than when she went in just before.

"Did a few scans, for a Vulcan she's fine." He reported as Kirk stepped over to her and crouched down.

"Hey T'Koric, how would you like to hang out with me tomorrow."

For a moment she assessed him, turning the thought over in her head. Then she went to open her mouth, though nothing came out. Instead she reached a hand out to touch his face gently. Kirk smiled fondly, picking the girl up to hold her above his head. She giggled, throwing her arms out like she was flying as Kirk stood up. Then he lowered her, carefully wrapping his arm around the back of her knees, holding them to his chest. There was something about the way he just so easily smiled at this young child that almost made Spock want to melt on the spot. Still, his stiff shoulders sunk a bit as he watched Kirk try to tickle even the smallest word from the Vulcan. Without his permission, his eyes softened. Then he noticed McCoy's trained eye on him and within seconds he had resorted back to stoic position as Kirk turned to face him with a triumphant grin.

"I take this as a yes. Skon will be easy to convince if I promise good literature." He joked as Spock gave a small nod.

"Very well, I shall ask Miss Victoria if she would join me for tomorrow." The door slid open then, Skon and Victoria stepping back in. Skon seemed surprised at the way T'Koric was allowing herself to be held by the captain. Victoria stopped by Spock.

"She's making a recovery..." It was almost too low to hear but Spock noted the sense of achievement in her words. A sense of pride for the young Vulcans progression.

"Miss Victoria."

"Please Spock, you can just call me Victoria, you don't have to worry about the miss part."

"Very well. The captain has suggested a trade for tomorrow. He will accompany Skon and T'Kuric, whilst you and I, I believe the term the captain used was 'hang out'."

Kirk snorted a laugh, which caused T'Kuric to grab his nose and wiggle it with a giggle.

"Well...I guess so. I'm not against it really..." She rubbed the back of her head. "I like spending time at the observation deck...you can find me there tomorrow when you get off shift I guess.."

"It is settled then. Tell me Victoria, what are your chess skills like?"

"I think I can take you."

 ___________________

"Checkmate."

"What! No....how?" Victoria was scanning the board furiously, looking ready to flip the table at her third consecutive loss. Spock had finished up his shift and picked up his chess sets on the way to the observation deck. Victoria had been waiting patently for him, having somehow got her hands on a teapot, mugs and a warmer. Since she had been unfamiliar with 3D chess, they had started with a few games of 2D chess.

"You take too many chances with your higher ranking pieces. That is what the pawns are for." He reminded her, taking a sip of tea. The way she had made it was fascinating. It reminded him of home more than he would ever admit.

"But the pawns are important too. They represent the common people. Why should the common people lay down their lives for the higher ups? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" So young and yet wise beyond her years, Spock mused as he poured her another cup of tea.

"How should I put this? Think of the game as this ship. The captain is the King, the leader. Above all else he is to be protected." He placed his King back on his side of the board.

"The Knights, the towers, the bishops, they are the senior staff. The backbone of the captains or the Kings command. They are there to aid him when he needs it." He placed the pieces back in place.

"The pawns are the other staff members aboard this ship. They have a place on the board, but if the King is endangered they will lay down their lives for him."

Victoria frowned slightly, brow furrowed.

"What about the queen? Is that you?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes." He placed the queen down beside the King. "The queen is the most trusted of the kings army. As the captains first officer I am the most mobile piece of his chessboard. I can move how he cannot. Taking out targets and problems that he orders me too. Did this explanation aid your understanding?"

"Yes. It did. Thank you Spock."

"You are welcome. Would you like another game?"

"Yeah. And this time I'm going to win."

 __________________

Partway into their game, Kirk appeared with T'Koric and Skon. Spock and Victoria both greeted them with the same tone of voice, low and full of concentration on the game before them. Kirk had to snort. Spock was leaning forwards onto his hands, carefully regarding the board. Almost unknowingly Victoria had copied his position. They looked like two peas in a pod. Kirk stood behind Victoria whilst the children hopped up onto the couch on either side of Spock.

"You want some advice on how to beat him?" Kirk asked. Victoria spun to look at him.

"It's possible?"

"He's good, but he's not unbeatable."

"May I remind you captain that you have only won forty nine point oh eight percent of chess matches against myself."

"And may I remind you Mr Spock that I still kicked your ass in those times I did win." Kirk shot back with a grin. Skon and Victoria laughed. Finding out that Spock was beatable seemed to strengthen Victoria's resolve to win this match.

"Check." She narrowed her eyes, as if it would help her to envision her way out of this situation. She pondered, wiggled her fingers whilst she thought. Then she saw it, as plain as day. She shifted her queen two spaces to the left.

"Checkmate." There was a moment of silence from Spock as he studied the board. Then he clapped twice, a show of approval.

"Well done."

Victoria surged upwards with a cry of delight. Kirk grinned and leaned over the top of the couch to give her a congratulatory hug. Aside from a few misplays, she had done remarkably well against such a skilled opponent. And just perhaps Spock had been going a bit easy on her. He seemed to understand how much she needed the confidence boost. T'Koric stood too, happily colliding with Victoria's leg. She seems to understand enough that her friend was very happy and that was good.

"Captain, how about you play a game with Spock and we can watch." Victoria suggested, prying T'Koric from her leg and hoisting her into her arms instead.

"What do you say Mr Spock?"

"Only if you are prepared for defeat, Jim."

"Oh it is on."

 _________________

Once they had all settled down again, Spock had drawn out the 3D chess board, setting it up. It was not only a battle of strategy, but one of wits as Spock and Kirk bantered back and forth. The children could only watch in awe as they played. To them it was like watching an elegant dance. There were pauses of silence but when they moved it was so swiftly and direct. No hesitation from either of them. Each of Spocks moves made logical sense, well thought out and calculated. Kirk was just as thoughtful, but more spontaneous, unpredictable.

"Checkmate." It was over almost as soon as it had began. "I believe that bumps up my total huh Spock?"

"Indeed it does Captain." The corner of his lips quirked up.

"Kaptain Kurk." Chekov had appeared at the top of the staircase. "We are receiving a strange message from a nearby ship. We believe they are stranded without power and are asking for assistance."

Kirk sighed. They really couldn't afford any more delays but he wasn't one to leave a ship stranded and floating.

"Alright Mr Chekov, Spock and I will meet you on the bridge, see if we can't make contact with them and find out what they need."

"Sir!" Chekov exited without another word. Kirk sighed and ran a hand back through his hair.

"Back to work we go." He muttered, clapping Victoria on the shoulder. She frowned but nodded in understanding. His duty was first and for most to the ship.

"Captain...would the two of you come and join us here later on? I should like to test a theory on your strategy of chess playing." Skon requested and Kirk smiled.

"Once we figure out how to help this ship, Spock and I will be back." He promised the young Vulcan before he and Spock made their way out, heading for the bridge.

"In the meantime Skon, why don't you and I have a game?" Victoria suggested. He nodded and she set up the board for them to play.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, a rather shorter chapter this time, enjoy!

Kirk and Spock arrived on the bridge in time for Uhura to announce they were being hailed. Kirk took his place in his chair, Spock standing ever diligent behind him. Kirk flicked on the screen.

"This is Captain Kirk of the U.S.S Enterprise. We received your distress signal, what's seems to be the problem?"

The man on the screen, Kirk could only describe him as slimy. His hair was greased back, eyes sullen and dark.

"Hello captain, I am Rijo. Around twenty minutes ago our ship suddenly lost power. We've been trying our best to get it back online but I'm afraid we've had little success."

Kirk mused for a moment.

"I could send a couple of engineers across to help you try and fix the engine. Worst comes to worst we can give you a lift to the next planet for proper repairs."

"That is most gracious of you Captain."

Kirk didn't get a chance to respond before someone came crashing in through the lift. They ran straight into McCoy's back, sending the two into the ground.

"What on gods green earth do you think you're doin'!" The doctor snapped as Victoria attempted to disentangle their limbs. Spock came to her rescue, hoisting her to the feet before aiding McCoy up.

"Miss Victoria this is highly-"

"That man is a slaver!" Victoria cut him off, panting heavily, pointing towards the man on the view screen. "I recognise the ship! T'Koric screamed bloody murder when she saw it."

The bridge fell silent at her claim. The man on the view screen narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Captain Kirk, I can assure you we are no slavers. You're not about to believe the word of a child over myself now are you?" Silent boiling fury in the captains eyes however. The slaver realised he was doomed.

"You little b-" Kirk cut him off with the press of a button.

"Warp three Mr Sulu. Get us out of here." There was a cold chill to his voice.

"Aye sir."

________________

McCoy escorted Victoria off the bridge, all the while grumbling about his sore back. Victoria made apologises but he waved her off. His spine was the price to pay for the knowledge they hadn't helped a slaver on his way merrily.

"Kirk would rather have you kids safe." She walked with him all the way back to medical.

"Can I ask you something Dr McCoy?" He grunted, she took that as permission to continue.

"You haven't...uh...told the captain or the commander about me have you?"

McCoy snorted.

"I don't see why you're so worried about it. Neither of them would care. That green blooded hobgoblin might actually get excited for once."

"I really doubt that."

"You don't know anything about him do you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

McCoy didn't answer, simply slipping into medical with a shake of his head. She frowned at the doctors cryptic message.

She had to wander to find T'Koric and Skon, the two children had returned to the rooms with all the others. The young Aaamazzarite girl collided with Victoria's legs the second the door had closed behind her.

"It's alright...I got there in time..." She murmured, picking the girl up. She shifted over and settled herself down, leaning against the edge of the bed. The Aaamazzarite curled in her lap, cuddling into her chest. The rest of the children did the same, finding a part of her to lean against. One by one the children curled around her drifted off to sleep, until she too couldn't keep her eyes open. She rested her head on top of Skons, the young male settled into her side. Within seconds she too was fast asleep.

_________________

Kirk left the bridge after a delay. He knew it was wrong to leave people stranded, but at the same time, he wasn't about to help slavers. Spock had disappeared earlier, and only now did he find him, picking up scattered chess pieces in the observation deck. He picked up one of the pieces Spock had been reaching for.

"Want a hand Spock?" Kirk asked as Spock took the piece from him and placed it in the tray.

"I have it under control captain." Still, Kirk knelt down beside him, scooping up the last of the pawns and the queen into his hands. As carefully as Spock had, Kirk placed the pieces into their places.

"They must have been scared.." Kirk mused. "Seeing something like that after they thought they'd finally got away. It was lucky they recognised the ship."

Spock only gave a brief nod as his reply.

"Jim." Kirk turned his head. "We are scheduled to be in the outer rim for four months. The children will not wish to remain on board for that whole time."

Kirk sighed. Spock was right. They were young, they would want to run around and explore the planets they were to visit. He rubbed his eyes roughly.

"So long as they have adult supervision I don't see why we can't let them visit. Not all at once in a huge group but...maybe smaller groups could be arranged and people assigned to watch them while we're on planet."

"That would be the most logical course of action."

Kirk grinned.

"Glad you agree with me. Now we just have to figure out who we can trust to accompany them."

"I already have a few crewmen in mind and can begin immediately on preparing a schedule of groups and supervisors to attend to them."

Kirk laughed and clapped Spock on the shoulder.

"I hope you're on the list of potential supervisors, I don't think those Vulcan kids would leave this ship without you." Spock sighed.

"As much as it would be wiser to put them into separate groups, due to their vast age difference, I cannot bare the thought of parting them from each other...let alone from myself." He admitted. "They are an unusual comfort, one I have not felt since the loss of my home." His deep eyes found the vivid blue of his captain's. Kirk's hand shifted, dropping from his shoulder to his arm.

"Spock...."

Without much thought, Spock placed his own hand atop Kirk's.

"I shall be alright captain. I will retire for now. Goodnight." He gently pulled Kirk's hand from his arm. He collected up his chess sets and turned.

"Goodnight." Kirk said quietly, watching his retreating back. Once Spock was gone, he mentally bashed himself for being so forward. Vulcans were touch telepaths. He'd just released all his own muddled thoughts onto Spock when it was clear he was already hurting. After beating himself up a bit more, he too headed out. On his way back to his room he paused by Spock's door. With their sleeping quarters so close he could justify just popping in for a visit. But as he'd already bid the man goodnight there was no reason.

He shuffled on after admitting his own cowardice, slipping into his room. He'd barely changed into his pyjamas when there was a knock at the door. His stomach lurched and his immediate hope was that it was Spock. Instead it was the young Orion girl, her hands wringing in front of her. He smiled faintly, kneeling down to her height.

"What can I do for you young lady?" He asked in his best gentleman voice.

"Captain...I was wondering...um...when we land...do you think...we could...we could find somewhere to have a picnic? I used to go on them all the time with my sisters but...well...I haven't seen them in a while..."

Kirk smiled, kind and soft.

"Of course we can. I'm sure we'll be able to find a nice meadow where we can set it up. You kids can invite whoever you want from the ships crew, provided you don't get too upset if they can't all make it."

The young girl beamed.

"Will you come along captain?" She grabbed his arm, grinning.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He promised, patting her head gently. "It's a few more days before we reach the first planet, how about you go and get some rest and tomorrow you can start planning with all the others huh?"

She nodded gleefully, before leaning forwards to plant a hasty kiss on his cheek.

"I'm honoured young lady." He said with a small bow of his head to the girl, who giggled and then skirted off back to the room she was staying in. Kirk watched her, standing and leaning against the door frame. When he looked around he noticed Spock's head vanishing back into his room, the door closing. He tried not to pay it any mind as he settled down for the night.

______________________

The next morning he was roused to several tiny people breaking into his room to jump on him. He let out a yell of surprise as he was squished, the breath being battered from his lungs. They were laughing, screaming happily about something. He remembered vaguely making promises last night but he hadn't had any coffee yet this morning so he wasn't sure. It wasn't long before Spock came bursting in, afraid someone was attempting to murder him. Instead he found the man trapping a young El-Aurian down to tickled him into submission. The other El-Aurian child and the Denobulan child pounded into his back with pillows, trying to release their friend.

"Oh morning Spock!" Kirk greeted, reaching behind him to steal one of the pillows he was being hit with to return the blows. "Mind giving me a hand here?"

Spock was hesitant as Kirk threw him the pillow.

"What do I do?"

"Hit 'em with it. It's a game."

By this point the Denobulan had wrapped his skinny arms around Kirk's neck, trying to tug him back. Spock raising the pillow above his head and brought it down on the child who giggled with delight. He continued the motion until the child released Kirk and grabbed the pillow instead, attempting to wrestle it from him. Kirk, now being able to move, managed to capture the other El-Aurian, tucking one under each arm as he stood and started to spin. The two children laughed with delight. Then the door opened and Kirk stopped.

"Guys! What the hell?" Kirk put the children back on their feet as Victoria crossed her arms. Spock helped the third off the bed and placed him next to his friends.

"You three should know better than to harass these two. They were probably trying to rest up for today."

"But Lila said they had promised us a picnic!" One of the boys piped up.

"That's not until we reach the planet. Now what do you say to the captain?"

"Thank you for playing with us. We're sorry."

Kirk smiled.

"That's no worries. You even got Spock in on the fun and believe me that's not easy."

"Captain, Victoria is attempting to discipline these three into appropriate behaviour, you should follow her example." Spock cut in, much to Kirk's slight annoyance.

"Their excited Spock, their kids their allowed to be."

"Never the less captain, it was inappropriate for them to barge into your personal quarters at this hour."

"He's right you know, it's rude. If he was your dad it'd be okay but he is the captain of a star ship." Victoria continued. Kirk sighed in defeat.

"Alright, I concede. Off you go boys, stay out of trouble."

The three children shuffled out, followed by Victoria who shut the door behind her.

"Speaking of barging into someone's room..." Kirk turned on Spock.

"I heard you yell and assumed the worst."

"Well I wasn't being hurt. You're dismissed commander Spock." He crossed his arms.

"Captain." Spock took his leave in rather a hurry.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to the last chapter being rather short, and the fact my work roster for next week is rather busy I'm posting this chapter up a little early. Enjoy!

Over the course of the next few days, Kirk found himself spending more time with the children, than on the bridge. Part of him wondered how he was getting away with it, but another part was content to sit around and play songs for the children all day. On one fateful day, they all discovered that Victoria had an pretty voice, when she started singing along with him. From then on they were requested to sing duets together. It was obvious to him she'd never had any real singing lessons.

The more time he spent with them, the more he learned about them. They didn't let on much about how they had all ended up on the slavers ship, the wounds and memories still too fresh in their minds. Instead he learnt odd little tidbits like Victoria's love for grapes. Or Terry and his sleep talking. Even the young Aaamazzarite had let on she adored drawing. He made note of all the information he found out about them, as trivial as they seemed it was important to him. He picked idly at the strings on the guitar as the children debated what they wanted to play next.

Kirk looked up at the sound of the door opening. Spock stood framed in the doorway, hesitation in his form.

"Permission to enter."

"Permission granted." Ever since their little spat in his room, they hadn't spoke much in general. Kirk had been with the children and Spock had been off with his duties. He'd even cut off the Vulcan children for now. Kirk had to wonder if there was something worse going on here.

"Would it be permissible for myself to join you for a while?"

"Yeah sure, take a seat." He jerked his head towards the bed he was leaning against. Spock shut the door and took the suggested seat. Within seconds T'Koric had climbed into his lap. He didn't shy away, instead seeming to welcome the contact, leaning down to rest his forehead atop hers. She giggled. Kirk paused. Only now did he register the dark circles that had started to form under his first officers eyes. He knew the Vulcan prided himself on not needing as much sleep as a human, but from this angle it didn't look like he was getting any at all. He tugged a string jarringly, causing them to all flinch at the grating sound, as it struck him.

"You've been covering my shifts haven't you?" He demanded of the Vulcan, who raised not only his head, but his eyebrow.

"In your absence it is my duty to take on your role and command the ship. Since there have not been any major problems, I felt it was unnecessary to inform you of the changing work schedule."

"You mean you've been jumbling it around for me so I can slack off?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Doctor McCoy agreed, surprisingly, that you required some time to, I believe the phase is 'enjoy yourself' as we will be spread thin once we reach the outer rim."

"Damnit you and Bones going behind my back.."

"We both believed you needed to be in top condition once we reach our destination."

Kirk pouted and went back to plucking strings.

"You know as my first you need to be in top condition too Spock."

"As I have reminded you on multiple occasions-"

"Don't start with that 'Vulcans don't need as much sleep' crap. You've aged six years in three days with those handbags under your eyes."

"I am well aware of my appearance. Please do not concern yourself too much with it." He rested his head back down on the small girl, who reached up and patted the sides of his face gently. Suddenly Kirk understood. He'd sent the children away to work himself down for a few days, now he was here to spend some time with them and recharge himself in a way. It was an odd system but he was impressed.

"You have any requests Spock?"

"The captain is most proficient at playing Vulcan melodies." Skon cut in from beside Victoria, who was embroidering a napkin.

"I should like to hear these melodies perhaps." Kirk grinned and obliged, beginning one he had played earlier. The children didn't seem to mind the repeat, continuing on with their various activities on the ground. At some point Spock moved from his seat on the bed, to sit on the ground beside the captain, managing to keep the small child in his lap. Further along Kirk heard his padd beep, signalling an incoming message, but he ignored it. Spock's head lolled onto his shoulder quite willingly. He noticed Victoria flash him a grin and Skon shot them a side glance. He had a bad feeling about those two.

Eventually Victoria deemed it time for them to move on and ushered the children from the room as quietly as possible as to not wake the sleeping Vulcan. T'Koric had to be almost pried from his chest, but after convincing her she would see him tomorrow, she finally allowed herself to be carried away. Once they had left, Kirk put the guitar aside and shifted carefully. He manoeuvred the man up into the bed, tucking him under the blankets. He'd never seen Spock like this before, so calm and peaceful. The emotion wasn't completely wiped from his face, soft laugh lines edged their way down from the sides of his nose. Kirk hoped he was the reason as to their presence on his face.

Against his better judgement, he fixed Spock's fringe, flattening down the hair across his forehead. Something about this encounter just felt so right with him. Another stolen moment for him to tuck away deep within his heart, only to see light when hell froze over. He shifted over to the couch then, intending to make it his sleeping place for a few hours. The captain rose again after a few hours, long before the Vulcan did, and left to attend to things. His first stop was by the children's rooms. Once he'd assess they were all in good health, he started making some rounds in the science department. Spock could use a break. After what he'd done for him, it was time for Kirk to return the favour.

He'd only dabbled briefly into the science department before, as it was Spock's area. It didn't take long for the scientists to bring him up to speed enough that he could aid them. They seemed surprised at his ability to rabidly help them break down the problem. His skills went beyond just captaining, and it seemed his crew was only learning that now. Once he was finished scribbling down the advanced equation he recommended they use, he made his way down to engineering. Scotty was glad to have him of course, so long as he promised not to get McCoy down there. They were all insane as is, no need to add to that insanity.

"She's purring like a kitten captain." Scotty said cheerfully as they walked their way around the core. Terry and Keenser were hanging out on the railing above, their legs dangling down off the edge. For once they weren't in a position for Scotty to yell at them. It didn't stop him though.

"Get down from there!"

The two shook their heads, got up, and sprinted away, much to they annoyance of Scotty.

"I cannae tell ya captain, but they'll be the death of me."

They continued their tour, chatting about the warp drive and various other parts of the ships engines. Terry the came sprinting at them.

"Scotty! Keener found something wrong with the thrusters. They've jammed, started leaking and he can't get them to work."

Scotty let out a frustrated strangle of a cry before he started swearing a mix of Scottish and English curses. He followed after Terry, the captain at his tail. It was a bit later that Spock appeared, carrying a padd under his arm, a steaming cup in his free hand. By that time the captain was filthy, hanging by his legs and one hand to wrench the last bolt back into place.

"Alright Mr Scott, that should stop the leaking until we reach the outer rim."

"Aye captain, appreciate the help."

With skill the captain clambered back down and made his way over to Spock.

"What brings you down to engineering?" He asked of his first as he was handed the streaming cup of coffee.

"You did not eat breakfast." He said calmly as Kirk scooped up his gold shirt.

"I expect this kind of harassment from Bones but from you? Spock I'm impressed." He took a sip of his coffee. "What led you to the conclusion I didn't eat this morning?"

"When I awoke in your room, I noted that the couch had been left in a hurried state. Further more your replicator also has not been used since yesterday."

"How do you know I didn't eat in the mess hall?"

"Because other crew members would have witnessed you there, and as I questioned several of them for your whereabouts, it became obvious you had not been there all morning."

Kirk blew a little on his drink before he took another sip.

"Alright you got me. I just wasn't all that hungry this morning." He wasn't about to admit it was because of the Vulcan that had been passed out in his bed. Spock didn't press the matter and simply handed over the padd he'd been holding.

"I have assessed and organised all the qualified staff members for the supervision of the children whilst we are on planet. I have also begun preparing a rotating roster so they will never be without two guides at once."

"Except Victoria?" Kirk questioned as he used his thumb to scroll down the list.

"As she and Ensign Chekov are around the same age, I thought it logical that they be paired together as supervisors over a group."

"She might like spending time with someone actually her own age."

"My thinking exactly captain."

"Well Spock I don't think I could have done that better myself." He said with a grin, handing the man back the padd. "Very well, you can go ahead with getting all that in order. We come into orbit in a few hours, I expect everyone on that list to know their assignments."

"Yes sir."

"And further more I want you to keep a lookout for a nice place for a picnic on this planet. I've got a promise to keep to a lovely young lady."

"Yes sir."

"Good man, I'll see you on the bridge soon." He patted Spock on the shoulder and started off down towards the turbo lift. Whether Spock was aware what Kirk had done, he didn't let on as the captain escaped to the bridge, his coffee clasped between his hands. Soon enough they were planet side, Sulu holding orbit. The outer rim was hardly a place for Starfleet. None of these planets were strictly part of the federation, but their struggling conditions had forced them to seek aid. In return they would become distant parts of the federation, even if they were far from contact.

Febos was their first planet of business. A colony had established itself there, twenty years prior, but they were struggling to keep crop growth to feed their growing population. The planet itself was nice enough, with rolling hills of crimson grass and trees with impossible twists and turns in their trunks. The first away team, consisting of Spock, Kirk and Uhura, were greeted by some of the locals, who showed them into their small town. The wooden houses rested upon foundations of rock, high off the ground. The Mayor explained it was to counter the flood waters they received over what they deemed the winter months. They had rested their home in a valley so they were protected.

"It's a nice set up you have here. I'll report back to my ship, get the necessary supplies you were promised beamed down at once." The Mayor thanked him and went about making arrangements for where they could store them. Meanwhile Kirk spoke to Scotty, telling him to beam down not only the supplies but the waiting groups of children as well. Spock had neatly organised them into groups of four, with the exception of the two Vulcan children who would accompany him. Victoria, who was set to venture out with Chekov, and Terry, who opted to stay aboard and aid Scotty with supplies. The children were delighted to finally be back on solid ground and not fending for their lives. Among the supervision Spock had selected was Uhura, who was chatting away happily to the Bajoran children in their native tongue. Without warning she switched languages, turning to smoothly invite the Aaamazzarite into their conversation in the girls native tongue. The girl was taken back but grinned and took the lieutenants hand. Sulu caught up with them, not seeming to mind the language shifting Uhura was pulling off.

Victoria and Chekov stopped by Kirk to let him know they were venturing off on their own for a while, hoping to find a nice spot near the hills for the picnic. Kirk sent them on their way, so long as Chekov kept his communicator on and waiting. With that the two youngsters scurried off, Chekov already launching into what sounded like an advanced mathematical equation about altitude. Spock approached him next, his two shadows in tow.

"Captain, I can oversee the delivery if you should wish to explore." Vulcans were not made for adventures, Kirk surmised.

"I got it Spock. Take the kids to look around town. I'm sure these people hadn't seen a Vulcan up close before." Spock raised an eyebrow but then nodded once.

"Very well." He held out his hands to the two children next to him, which they took without hesitation. Spock began in Vulcan as they headed off together down the road through the town. Kirk watched them go with a small laugh.

_________________

It was a few hours before he heard anything from any of the groups. Finally Chekov beeped him and he answered straight away. The young ensign was beyond ecstatic.

"Kaptain you would not believe what Wictoria and I have found!" He shot off a few words in Russian then seemed to catch himself. But by that point Victoria had the communicator.

"Captain you have to come see this, the children will love it, it's so beautiful. I'll send you the location and Pavel and I will wait for everyone to arrive. It's no picnic spot but damn it is gorgeous." He barely had time to write down the coordinates she gave before she was gone. It wasn't hard to get the young ensign excited, but if it had Victoria sounding like that, no doubt it was worth it. He sent the word around the groups to form up on him, Bones drawn from the ship just in case. Together they adventured out into the wilderness beyond the town edge. They walked for quarter of an hour before they came upon what had the two youngsters so wound up. And Kirk had to admit they hadn't been wrong.

The land above them reached towards the sky, forming a delicate mountain range. From that, a steady waterfall fell into a large pool, from there dropping down into several smaller shallower pools. The river ran off west, flowing downstream. Trees hung overhead, creating an almost covered area for them to swim in the waters with little worry about the sun beating down on them. Still it shimmered through, creating reflections in the shifting waters. It was peaceful.

"Kaptain!" Chekov greeted him with a wave. The young man had stripped down to his black pants and was treading water in the larger of the pools. "Ze water is fantastic Kaptain!"

Bones looked to be on the brink of bursting a blood vessel. He started clambering over the rocks in a fury.

"Chekov get out of the goddamned water now! You haven't had your shots for this trip yet and if you catch a cold or something worse I won't be responsible!" The ensign hurried to the edge of the water to get out so McCoy could accost him with hypos and assess his health quickly.

"Where's Victoria, I assume she's been in the water also." Bones asked, holding the wiz kids ear between his thumb and forefinger threateningly.

"Wictoria went climbing just before you came! She should be back soon!" He tried not to struggle against the doctors hold, knowing it would only bring more hypos upon himself.

"Look out below!" The cry caused some of the older generation to instinctively go for cover. However they realised at the sight of the falling girl, it was only Victoria. She hit the water with a splash, sending out waves. She broke the surface seconds later, pushing her hair back out of her face. She looked around at the faces. Then she laid eyes on Bones who all but threw Chekov aside.

"Here. Now." He barked and she hurriedly swam over to him, letting him pull her from the water and jab her in the neck with several hypos. Whilst Bones was distracted by Victoria, Kirk encouraged the rest of them to get prepared to jump in. It was the perfect place for a break after all. The only three who didn't immediately begin stripping off clothes were the three Vulcans, who stood a little unsure. After some encouraging from Kirk, the Vulcans removed their shoes and socks and rested their feet in the water. They couldn't avoid the children who jumped in near them, splashing water all over them. When he wasn't watching, Bones moved behind Spock and administered a hypo into his neck.

"If I have to do that damned girl you get one too." Spock placed a hand over the place on his neck, wondering why the doctor would come to that conclusion.

Against his will, Kirk managed to convince Bones to relax and put his feet in the water like Spock and the kids. Still it didn't stop him from grumbling about potential diseases they could be exposed to by being out there.

"Jim! I challenge you to a competition!" Victoria announced while she stood on the bank. Kirk, who was floating on his back, immediately shifted.

"What kind of competition we talking about here?"

"See who can hold their breath the longest."

Bones was the first to complain, followed closely by Spock.

"Jim don't you dare try something so stupid-"

"Victoria this course of action is highly dangerous to both your health and the captains-"

"-If either of you drown, I am not reviving you."

"-it would be illogical to attempt."

Victoria stood stunned.

"Wow...when did you two become Jim's dads?"

"Bones, Spock, I promise I won't hurt myself. It's just a little competition." The two men sighed in unison. The only time they agreed was when it came to Kirk's safety. And even then when the captain made up his mind, there was little to stop him. At least they had some sense and kept the very top of their heads visible on the surface. Bones unhelpfully grumbled aloud of the possible things that could go wrong as they watched and waited. Then all of a sudden Kirk broke the surface first, taking a gasp of air. Victoria popped up next. After a moment of collecting themselves, Spock announced Victoria the winner. She hoisted herself out to sit on the side of the bank.

"Ha! I knew there was something I could beat you at." She said, pulling her hair back behind her head where she begun to ring it out over her shoulder. "Well played though captain." She paused seeing the collective group in front of her staring. The first to collect their thoughts was Uhura.

"Victoria...your ears..." Realisation dawned on the girls face. In her moment of triumph she'd forgotten that she was always covering her ears with her hair. Now there were on full display to all the children and the adults present. The only person who wasn't surprised was Bones.

"So she's got pointed ears? The hobgoblin has them too but no one stares at him."

Something clicked into place in Spock's mind in that instant.

"You are half Vulcan."

Victoria bolted. She was out of the water and into the tree line in an instant. Spock didn't even bother to put his shoes back on as he sprinted after her.

"Spock wait!" Kirk attempted to clamber out of the water to rush after them, but Bones stopped him, wanting to make sure his immune system hadn't thrown a fit being in such strange water. By the time he got going after them, the two were long from his sight.. He slowed a bit, panting to catch back his breath. He hurried to silence it enough so he could hear for any indication of the two half Vulcans nearby. When he couldn't he continued on in what he hoped was the way they had went. Eventually he heard the yell of a young woman being caught and made his way towards it.

"I'm not! I'm not!" Victoria sobbed and Kirk stopped behind a tree to watch the situation first. How would Spock react to finding one like him?

"Your ears and your actions deceive no one. You ran out of fear that we would not accept you knowing what you are." Spock wrestled with the flailing limbs trying to struggle away. He trapped her to his chest.

"I too am half Vulcan."

Slowly but surely, she stopped fighting and went limp in his arms. The tears continued to streak down her face. Finally she found words.

"You...your half Vulcan?"

"Correct."

The weight of everything seemed to crash down off her. She suddenly wrapped her arms around the Vulcan, crushing him into a hug as she sobbed into his chest. For once he didn't seem bothered by the touch, carefully wrapping his arms back around her, murmuring softly into her hair. This was not the Spock that stood on the bridge beside him, logical and steady fast. He was nervous and gentle, seeming to understand her fears more than anyone else ever would. Once she had calmed a bit, Kirk came out of hiding, calling for them. Spock looked over to him, a vulnerable look in his eyes. It was only there for a second before it was replaced by his usual blank stare.

"Dr McCoy knew didn't he?" Spock asked Victoria, who nodded and sniffed.

"I asked him not to tell you...I didn't think any of you would understand... I didn't realise...I've never met a Vulcan until Skon and T'Koric came along."

Kirk stepped over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll talk about it back on the ship alright? For now let's get back to the others before Bones goes hypo happy on everyone in the party."

By the time they got back, everyone had gotten dressed again, preparing to call for transport out. They all stopped to look at the three as they returned. The two men had placed the girl between them, offering words of support to help stop her tears. Uhura looked to Sulu and Chekov, they were smiling as she was. The group of three stopped once they had rejoined the group properly.

"Scotty, we're ready to be beamed back up."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Works been kicking my behind lately with lots of hours. I'm so glad I wrote these chapters very far in advance otherwise this story would most likely never get finished. However! I'm almost finished writing the rough draft so chapters will keep coming when I find time to edit and post them (like now). As always, enjoy!

Once the whole group was back on board, Kirk set about calling together his senior staff and the children into one of the meeting rooms. Victoria took a place next to Kirk at the head of the table. She was much more silent now, her mind was most likely racing over the new information she'd received. Bit by bit, all requested members filtered in. When they were all seated, Kirk stood.

"I've called you all together to discuss and assess the situation. Victoria." She stood silently. "Now the cats out of the bag I'm giving you the chance to set things straight in front of everyone. You can tell us what you want us to know. Don't feel compelled to tell things that hurt though, we can work through that later. Right now, I just want to understand why you lied to not only me and my crew, but to the children you swore yourself to protect."

He sat down again. Victoria bit her lip for a moment before she raised her head.

"My father was a Vulcan male named Strom. He was on some peace mission on earth and he met my mother by chance. The way I've heard it, they were forbidden from being formally married and so they eloped and had me. Six months into my mothers pregnancy my father was called back to Vulcan in a hurry. He...he never made it. I think it was pirates." She paused, taking a deep breath. "My mother raised me on her own, the rest of the family called her...such terrible names...but she always made sure that if they said anything to me, they would know about it. She never let them bully me." The girl squirmed uncomfortably. "She fell sick when I was twelve and one morning she didn't wake up. She was just...gone. I managed to look after myself for a few weeks, but then the authorities came and I was thrown from one foster family to the next. Humans didn't want me so why would any Vulcan? I broke away, at fifteen I wandered, hitchhiking to as far away from it all as I could. They didn't catch up with me until I was sixteen. After that I ended up with an uncle of my mothers. He loved me despite what I was. He was the captain of a cargo ship, and he would take me out on runs all the time." She paused and for a moment it seemed like she wouldn't continue. Spock took her hand. She looked to him for a moment before continuing.

"On one run...we....Pirates killed him and the crew. Took everything including me. First chance they got they sold me to slavers and first chance I got I destroyed their ship. Anything was better than being a prisoner again."

She turned to the children.

"You guys are so young, taken from your families when you didn't deserve to be. I love you all very much, I have come to care so much for you that you became the family I never had. I didn't want to ruin that by telling you the monster I am."

She turned to Kirk.

"And you...I asked Dr McCoy to lie for me, I thought knowing what I was would make you think badly of me. I never realised Mr Spock, your most trusted officer, could possibly be a freak like me."

"Miss Victoria." Only those who knew Spock well could hear the underlying fury in his voice. "Would you call myself a monster? Or a freak?" His voice was almost impossibly low, rending her frightened for a few moments.

"N-no of course not Mr Spock. You're wonderful to know, truly." She took his hand in both her own.

"Then please refrain from using such derogatory phrasing when referring to yourself."

The room had fallen deathly silent. Kirk stood once again and promptly dismissed everyone, feeling the need to give a moment to the two half Vulcans. Let them sort themselves and each other out. At least now they fully understood her position and why she had hidden so much from them all. Kirk retired to his room, the rest of his staff returning to their stations. Spock would find him when he was ready to talk. In the meantime, he took the chance to shower and change into a dry uniform. By the time he got out of the bathroom, Spock was waiting for him, seated on the bed.

"How'd it go?" He asked, lowering the towel from his hair to around his shoulders.

"So much self loathing...a feeling I remember all too well." Kirk sat down beside him, grasping his shoulder.

"Spock. Are you going to be alright?"

"Jim I...I do not know..." Brown eyes met blue. "I understand her torment, more than anyone, the feeling of being torn between two worlds. But the memories it brings forwards...of my mother....of my childhood..."

Kirk gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"If anyone can help her through it, it's you Spock. I recommend she needs to learn something of her Vulcan heritage. You could teach her the whole telepathy thing."

Spock shook his head.

"I believe what she needs first and foremost, is to learn meditation. It would help her with calming her emotions and perhaps finding some inner peace with her two halves."

Kirk smiled.

"See, you got this."

"Thank you Jim."

"You're welcome Spock."

_________________________

It was another week before they left Febas. In that time they helped rebuild some houses and make plantations where the floods wouldn't wipe them out again. The children took on helping very seriously. They carried around tools and food to the workers, but also cheered up the local children by playing games together. Despite some of the language barriers, children were children. Even Victoria, despite the obviousness of wanting to lock herself away, had helped out as well. They had learned quite quickly she was a bit of a mad genius. Soon enough, with a bit of help from Scotty, she had their wind turbines working almost three times as effectively.

Kirk had to admit there was a shift. She now wore her dark hair back in a high pony tail, showing off her ears instead of hiding them. He also learned she was planning to let her eyebrows grow how they wanted, instead of changing them. Spock informed him that through his meditation lessons with the other Vulcan children, she was becoming more centred. Inner peace was still a bit out of reach, but she had made the first steps towards it. Something he found himself being proud of her for. He could tell Spock was proud at her progress as well. Even if he wasn't so good at showing it.

The children were disappointed at having to leave so soon but filed back to prepare for beaming aboard none the less. By the time Kirk and Spock had finished herding them on board and reached the bridge, Victoria had already beat them, chatting away to Sulu and Chekov. Most of the staring at her ears had stopped within a few days, but Kirk still noticed the odd glance from some of his crew members. She turned hearing the lift open.

"Jim! Permission to watch the initiation of warp from the bridge." Kirk laughed.

"Usually people ask for permission before they enter the bridge." He said, flashing her a grin as he took his spot in the captain's chair. "However, permission granted. Mr Chekov, prepare the announcement for the crew about our next stop and punch in the coordinates. Mr Sulu once they're in, warp four."

"Yes sir."

Since the men now had their orders, Victoria wandered over to sit on the floor beside the captains chair. She looked far more comfortable now than she had a few days ago. The Febos had been generous enough to make the children some proper clothing, so now they were all dressed in the correct sizes. Victoria had been gifted a beautiful handmade skirt, which practically floated around her. The loose soft blue shirt she wore with it was neatly tucked into the band of the skirt. She looked like a proper young lady now. She looked up to the captain who was smiling at her.

"Jim," Ever since her real identity had come out, she had started on more informal terms with many of the crew. "Why are the federation out this far anyway? I mean...you can't even contact base from here. You're completely alone. What if something happened?"

While she spoke, Kirk noticed Spock stepping up behind him.

"Well you see, this is the federation flagship. They expect us to go out into the world and do wonderful things and help people in the name of the federation." Kirk explained, waving his hand out towards the blackness of space. "That and these people have agreed to join the federation with granting this aid. Meaning within a few months there'll be federations space stations out here and all points in-between."

"The federation is spreading..."

"You make it sound like its a bad thing." He questioned.

"It just...seems like a lot of power in one place."

Kirk chuckled.

"Your right about that. But they don't use the power they have for bad. We wouldn't be on this mission if that were the case."

"And then you never would have found us.."

"See? This trips got good points and good intentions behind it."

She giggled, a sound that made a few staff members turn. They quickly turned back under the narrowing eyes of the first officer.

"So I've been thinking about having a music night." Kirk looked back to Victoria. "I mean we could use the mess hall and play some music through the speakers in that section to dance too. And maybe even use a few tables to make an improv stage for those few who play instruments."

"Miss Victoria, you are aware this is a starship designed for operations retaining to Starfleet?" Spock cut in, sharp eyes now on her.

"Is that a no?"

"I think what Spock's trying to say Victoria is that, whilst it's a nice idea, maybe not on the ship. However, I'm sure the locals of the next planet would be delighted to have such entertainment."

Victoria beamed.

______________________

Soon after the jump to warp, Victoria made her way off the bridge, leaving Spock to approach the captain.

"Captain."

"What is it Spock?"

"May I speak to you openly sir?

"Course."

"I believe Miss Victoria may be acting a little...different." Kirk furrowed his brow.

"She seemed pretty fine to me just then..."

"Normally she would not enter the bridge without permission, she had told me personally she finds it to be invasive of the crew members who work here."

"She did come crashing in that other time."

"That was due to an emergency though and is pardoned. All other times she has respectfully asked to enter before she did." Kirk frowned.

"Sulu, Chekov, did Victoria enter with you guys?"

"No Kaptain, she arrived after us.."

"Uhura?" He spun on his chair.

"No sir, she was here before me and a few of the other crewmen." The lieutenant replied. Worry had set into her expression. "We've been meeting in my off shifts to hang out. Says she needs an older woman to talk to....Sometimes she arrives late and she brushes it off...I'm not sure if it means anything thought, she won't talk about it."

Kirk swung back to face the view screen, hands folded thoughtfully.

"I hope it's nothing serious."

"After the incident with her true identity, I believe she will come for help when she feels she needs it. Though...it does not make watching any easier."

"Commander Spock, I'm surprised at you." Kirk grinned and leaned back in his chair. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were having parental feelings for our young friend."

Spock's only response was to frown and make his way back to his station, the captains chuckle at his back.

_______________________

Three days at warp four and they reached the next planet on their agenda. Muomia, according to the data they'd recovered, it was a planet with three moons, and said to have some stunning night views of the sky. Upon arriving planet side, They were greeted by humid temperature and a barren wasteland. Minus the small town that they were beaming down to. There were several colonies separated over the planet and they had to meet and make peace with each before supplies could be delivered.

Kirk insisted on Victoria attending the first meetings. Partly hoping it might help them see Starfleet really meant no harm, and also to teach her a thing or two about the behind the scenes. She played it well, shaking hands with the dignitaries of the village and politely slipping into conversation with one of them, as Kirk set about getting some supplies and workers sent down. It was only then he noticed the way her muscles shifted, her pose becoming rigid as the workers moved past them.

Kirk noticed one of the workers eyes traveling down her form in a quick glance whilst he shuffled past, carrying a box of supplies. Once he was out of sight, Victoria relaxed, her shoulders sagging slightly. It suddenly made sense to him, why she would seek out the bridge. And being with Uhura, a young man like that would never approach her with the woman around. Uhura was terrifying when she wanted to be, cutting down the tallest of men in seconds with her sharp wit and smarts.

He excused himself from the dignitaries, following after the workers with hurried steps.

"Hey!" He called, causing a few of them to turn and look as he caught up with them. "You, with the blonde hair, come here for a moment."

The man in question looked to his co-workers before making his way over to Kirk. He tucked his box of supplies under one arm and saluted with the other.

"Can I help you captain?"

"What's your name and age ensign?"

"Peters sir, Jacob Peters. And uh...I'm twenty...two?"

Kirk pointed over to where Victoria was keeping the dignitaries entertained.

"Do you know Miss Victoria?"

"Ah, yes sir." He looked a little nervous. "We met on Febos, she helped out with the repairs and such."

"Are you aware Miss Victoria is still a minor?"

"....yes sir?"

"Then you would do well to remember it before you look at her like that again."

"...Yes sir."

"She is a guest aboard the Enterprise, show her some respect. And do yourself a favour and don't pressure underage girls."

"Yes sir."

"You're dismissed Ensign Peters." The man saluted once again and then hurried off. Kirk turned to see Victoria staring at him. He gave her an easy grin and a thumbs up. Her reaction wasn't what he was expecting. Twisting her mouth into a fowl grimace she suddenly strode away from the dignitaries, leaving them stunned. He caught up to her before she could conn the Enterprise.

"Vic what's wrong?" He reached out, intending to grab her arm but she pulled it from his reach.

"Why did you do that? I could have handled it on my own!"

"You call hiding on the bridge 'handling' it?"

"I was getting up my courage! I've been observing Uhura and how she deals with unwanted attention like that."

"Vic that's not how it works." He could feel his temper rising. "I'm the captain and I'll be damned if I think you're being mistreated by one of my staff members."

"Well whoop-de-do you told him off, that's not going to stop him captain." She all but screamed back. One of the dignitaries had approached him from behind and he nearly swung at them.

"Captain, perhaps you should take your disagreement with your daughter to more private quarters." He suggested politely.

"I'm _not_ his daughter." She snapped before flicking open her communicator. "Scotty, one to beam back."

"Victoria this is not over."

" _Now_ Scotty."

Before he could change the order, she had vanished. He let out a strangled sigh and gripped his hair. He'd just wanted to help. He sighed again and lowered his hands. Now he had a mess to clean up. He turned back to the dignitaries and led them away, herding them to a more private venue to continue discussions for the day.

________________________

Later that evening Kirk when to visit Victoria. The Aaamazzarite girl answered the door.

"Victoria is not here. She left to go visit Miss Lieutenant."

With that in mind he made his way to Uhura's room. After knocking three times with no answered, he surmised that no one was in there. He started making his way back towards the bridge when he ran into Uhura. It was all downhill from there.

"Sorry Kirk, I haven't seen her since she beamed down with you this morning. Maybe she went to see Scotty."

 

"I cannae tell ya captain, she was here earlier but vanished about half hour ago. Make that two and half hour ago. You could try McCoy."

 

"Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a baby sitter. If she's not with the kids, she's with either you or Spock. So try the pointy eared bastard. Now get out of my sickbay before I stuff you full o' hypos."

 

Spock was surprisingly harder to locate than usual. Kirk had searched the bridge, some of the labs, and even visited his quarters with no sign of the man. So he went for an wander into other parts of the ship, the training rooms, the mess hall until he came across the observation deck. He could hear low voices talking. Silent, he slunk up the stairs to peek. Victoria was sitting cross legged on the ground, whilst Spock stood over her, a book held open in one hand, a cup of tea in the other.

"Tactical Directive 36." He queried to her.

"Tactical dire....oh! The captain will not engage a hostile force without the protection of a security officer."

"Correct." He took a sip of tea. "Regulation 3, Paragraph 12"

She paused for a moment. "In the event of imminent destruction, a Starfleet captain is authorised to preserve the lives of his crew by any justifiable means."

"Correct."

Spock was _quizzing_ her at a time like this. But, it was working. She was a lot calmer than she'd been on the surface and Spock seemed to be mildly impressed by her memory skills. He went to try and slip away and just run into her later.

"Captain, it is not polite to eavesdrop on a lesson in session." He felt himself want to curl up at Spock's voice. He poked his head up first before standing completely.

"Need to get those stairs dusted." He joked, brushing himself down. Neither of the half Vulcans looked impressed.

"What do you want Jim?" Victoria said, sounding a lot calmer than earlier.

"I wanted to discuss with you what happened earlier."

"There's nothing for you to say." She shook her head and stood. "I'm the one who needs to speak. I talked it over with Spock and I'm sorry for snapping. He's just...he was so nice to me and then...when I started being nice back he came onto me suddenly and...I was stressed."

"Vic.."

"I acted highly inappropriately in front of the dignitaries, and I showed you little respect despite what you have done and the kindness you have shown me and the other children. I'm grateful for your help today and I only hope you can forgive me." She bowed her head.

"You're forgiven Victoria. But that doesn't cover what I wanted to say to you." She raised her head. "If someone is harassing you, I want to know. The next time you don't feel safe, come to myself or Spock. You don't have to do everything on your own here, we'll protect you. It's our job to make sure everything aboard this ship goes smoothly, that includes making sure our guests are protected. Do you understand me?"

"Yes captain."

"Good."

Victoria suddenly launched herself at Kirk, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. She buried her face in his shoulder as he hugged her back tightly.

"Hey now it's all right.." He promised, patting her back firmly. He put her feet back on the ground and let her go. Then he rounded on Spock.

"And _you_." Spock raised an eyebrow. "Starfleet regulations? _Seriously_?"

"She requested help to take her mind off your disagreement. I complied."

"It's better than what he found me doing." Victoria admitted, showing Kirk her bloodied hands. "I kinda might have murdered one of the punching bags in one of the training rooms."

Kirk chuckled.

"Alright, off to Bones we go."

"What if he eats me for breakfast?" Victoria asked in mock worry.

"I'll make sure he won't."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life has been kicking my ass and I'm sorry this is late, but hopefully this cute fluffy chapter makes up for it.

The dignitaries were quite happy to accept Victoria's apology for her outburst. They found her easy to converse with and he let her handle keeping them entertained while he got his hands dirty helping fix whatever he could. Houses, engines, even some plumbing. The crew were used to seeing him getting stuck into work but not so fervently or with such determination. He was trying to keep his mind off Victoria's out cry yesterday. She was right, he wasn't her father in any sense. But the words hurt more than he realised. The more he thought over it, the more they hurt. He would never be a father in her eyes, but why did that bother him so much? So he threw himself into work, trying to distract both his hands and his mind. T'Koric found him buried under a broken vehicle, attempting to fix the piping so it could run again.

The young Vulcan worked her way under the car so she as laying next to him, observing what he was doing with curiosity. Her presence made him wonder if Spock was nearby.

"Captain you are attempting to put the screw in wrong."

For a moment he paused, staring at his work. The small voice from beside him was correct, he was trying to undo the bolt instead of tighten it. Then he suddenly sat up. His head collided with the underside of the car and he felt back. With a few choice swears he crawled out and turned to the Vulcan child.

"Did you...just speak?" He spluttered as she shifted until she could sit up without banging her head.

"Yes."

He placed a hand on his head. Was he dreaming?

"Captain you are bleeding from your head wound. It would be best if you sought medical attention within the next fifteen minutes to avoid any prolonged injury."

He shook his head and stood. She joined him, grabbing hold of his leg as if to help support him as they walked.

"The doctor believed I was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and it was effecting my need or ability to speak. It is not true, I just did not want to speak until now because I was not ready to. You, Victoria and Commander Spock have done wonders for my mental health."

"And so you choose your first words to me to be snark?"

"It seemed appropriate to point out your distraction form your task as you had yet to notice it."

"Jim!" Victoria ran over to them, seeing the way the captain was swaying. "Spock! Jim's bleeding, call McCoy!" She hooked his arm around her shoulders.

"The captain received a blow to the head when he attempted to rise whilst underneath the metal vehicle."

Victoria stared.

"Oh my god...T'Koric you..."

"I must interject to point out that the captain requires medical attention before you fuss over my ability to speak."

Even Victoria couldn't argue with that logic. When the captain was safely on board and in medical, Victoria dragged T'Koric and Spock off to talk with them.

"Why now T'Koric?" Victoria had to know. The young Vulcan sighed.

"I did not feel properly in control of myself, or my ability to control my words...I did not wish to cause harm."

"Has meditation helped with these uncontrolled feelings?" Spock asked.

"Yes. I am grateful for your attentions Mr Spock."

Skon entered, followed by Kirk who had a bandage taped over his head injury.

"Hope we haven't missed too much." Kirk plonked himself down next to Victoria.

"Captain!" T'Koric shifted around the table to hop up into the captains lap.

"Oh, so now your nice to me?" He asked with a smile, wrapping his arms around her. "First words out of your mouth in months and you have to start off with sass. I think I ought to ban Spock from looking after you kids for the good of crew."

Victoria laughed, seeming to cue the Vulcans in that he was joking.

"Captain,"

"It's just Jim T'Koric."

"Jim, I would like to second Victoria's request to perform for the citizens of the village. Provided you will accompany the singing."

He had to grin.

"How can I say no to a face like that." He captured part of her cheek with his fingers.

"Please refrain from pinching my cheek captain, it is rather condescending."

Even the Vulcans laughed at Kirk's expression to that remark.

_____________________

It was by no means a grand show, but the locals appreciated the children's efforts to entertain them. The 'stage' was just the town hall cleared out, with chairs and hay bales thrown around for people to sit on. As promised Kirk took up a permanent residence to play near the first row of seats. A few odd members of the crew had joined him with various instruments he hadn't been fully away were on the ship. He was most surprised when one of the young ensigns pulled out a violin and admitted she'd had more than ten years experience playing it.

All of his senior staff had been conned into attending, even Bones, who was sitting gruffly in the first row on a hay bale, looking as unhappy as ever. Spock was seated beside him, which probably only worsened the doctors mood. Uhura, Sulu and Chekov had all seated themselves further back, in hopes they didn't get dragged up to perform. Scotty had settled himself on the ground in the front row, surrounded by other members of engineering. They kept talking absently as members of the general populace and his crew wandered in and took seats.

When the room was almost full, the children began. With their improv orchestra they sung a few songs together a group, encouraging the crowd to join in. Scotty in particular got very into it and eventually got up to teach the children an Irish jig. It was rather entertaining for all to watch. Even Bones was tapping his foot in time to the music, though he stopped when he noticed Kirk watching him. At the end of the song, which they had somehow managed to bullshit on the spot by what Scotty had suggested, the scottsman led the children in a bow. The audience clapped them off with a laugh.

Next Victoria took the stage, encouraging Kirk up with her to play a few songs and sing together like they had in their practise sessions. A few in the audience were surprised by how well they both could sing. They only did a few songs before Victoria grew increasingly embarrassed at the attention. She hurriedly shoved him back with the other musicians after that. To everyone's surprise, T'Koric stood up next. She stood for a moment, tense, like she regretted getting up. Kirk went to stand and aid her, but she waved him off and continued on.

She found her place in the centre of the makeshift stage, resting her arms in the small of her back. Three deep breaths later, she opened her mouth and sang one hallowed note. The note drifted down slowly, the sound fading before she continued. Her words were Vulcan, and many in the crowd had little idea what she was saying. But her voice, so young, so powerful, it struck a cord in all that heard it. Unwavering she continued, even when the tears began down her own face.

Kirk found his eyes landing on Spock. The man looked simply distraught. Even all his logic couldn't hide the wetness around his eyes. His heart ached. He wanted to reach out and touch the Vulcan, let him know whatever it was she as singing about was okay. That he was there. He would always be there. The last time he had seen such emotion on the mans face had been in his dying moments. Such grief and anguish didn't belong on the face of his friend.

T'Koric drew her acapella to a close, with one final resounding note that hung in the air. Whilst they had not understood the song, the emotions behind it had been enough to compel them to their feet, clapping and cheering for the young Vulcan girl who had spent the last few weeks being mute. It was, inspiring to see. Kirk dragged his eyes back to Spock, who was shifting around a disgruntled McCoy trying to clap. The Vulcan slipped out through the small gap between the crowd and the wall of the room, heading for the back door.

By the time Kirk had escaped the hall, Spock was seemingly nowhere in sight. He hadn't gone far though and it wasn't long before Kirk came across him, sitting on the front steps of the town shop, his face in his hands. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs.

"You know, the kids will be disappointed if you don't stick around to watch the end of their show. Skon was going to recite some poetry." He dug his hands into his pockets as he watched the other male. Spock raised his head at last, showing Kirk the tears in his eyes, the emotions he wasn't able to control right now.

"Her song....she sung of Vulcan." That was enough to get Kirk to settle on the step beside him.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"I do not wish to burden you with my thoughts."

Kirk smacked his knee lightly.

"Don't give me that. As my second in command you need to be in top form. What happens if I suddenly keeled over right here and now, you're in no position to lead a starship."

Spock sighed.

"She...she sung of how it was. What little she remembers of the ordeal. The screaming, the crying. Being separated from her family and sent away in a shuttle with other children. She remembers watching as Vulcan was destroyed and the faint connections of her family vanishing like lights in her mind..."

"Spock..."

"I really do not wish to discuss this any further captain.."

Kirk stood again, moving in front of Spock and holding out a hand to him.

"Wasn't going to say that. I was gunna suggest you heading back to the ship for now to collect yourself before the Vulcan kids see you."

Spock regarded him for a moment before he took the offered hand, and allowed Kirk to pull him to his feet. They stood silently for a moment, mere centimetres apart. Finally Spock broke the silence with a small sob, unable to contain himself as he lent forwards, resting his head against Kirk's chest.

"It's alright Spock, I'm here.."

I'll always be here damn it

Spock's hands gripped the sides of his shirt as Kirk wrapped his arms around the man tightly.

I love you.

"It's okay Spock, let it out."

I love you so much Spock

_____________________

It took a bit for Spock to regain himself and by that time, their concert had ended. They rejoined the group like nothing had happened, Kirk leaving Spock to join the Vulcan children, while he congratulated Victoria and a few of the others. When everyone had been beamed back aboard, still chattering away about the proceedings happily, Kirk went to check on Spock. Upon opening the door he found Spock sprawled out over the bed, his legs dangling off the side. Skon was curled under one arm, T'Koric the other. All three of the Vulcans were fast asleep. With a grin, Kirk shut the door again silently.

The next morning he was awoken to knocking on the door of his room. He stumbled out of bed to answer it.

"Captain." He looked down at the small Vulcan girl first, then up at Victoria.

"What's up T'Koric, Vic?"

"I was wondering if perhaps you would join myself and Skon in the partaking of a pre-prepared meal in a preferably natural environment."

Kirk rubbed his eyes. It was too early for Vulcans and their unnecessarily long sentence structures.

"What?"

"She wants to know if you'll have a picnic with them today. We've been up for hours and found the perfect spot for it." Victoria seemed rather excited.

"Sure but...wasn't the picnic idea for everyone?"

"Miss Uhura informed me that there is to be pleasant scenery in the next community we are to visit, therefore it much more suitable for the enjoyment of everyone. I would like to partake in one before then, to acquaint Skon and myself to such rituals performed at these 'picnics'."

This was odd, but he agreed. He watched the girls head off for the mess hall, planing what Victoria would help them pack into the basket. With a shake of his head he turned back to his room to get dressed for the day. When his shift was over, he made his way to the transport room where the two Vulcan children were waiting for him. He offered to take the basket from Skon, who insisted he could carry it. He wasn't quite sure how they could have found a nice place for a picnic on such a desert like planet, but sure enough they had found a small oasis not too far from town that held a small pond and a single large tree. It wasn't perfect, but the children were pleased with their discovery. Kirk helped Skon lay out the picnic mat and they all sat down.

"Victoria made these sandwiches for our meal." Upon investigation he discovered there were ones with and without meat. He sorted them that way so the Vulcan children would know which ones were for them.

"She's considerate of you guys, I mean...being vegetarians and all."

"Victoria has looked after us for a long time captain. Even before we crash landed onto that planet. Whilst in the care of the slavers she would hold our hands, or just speak to us to avoid us, as you would say, 'going crazy', due to lack of good stimuli."

"Would you say she's like your mother then?"

"No." Skon said without hesitation. "However we cannot deny the bond that had grown between us, most likely due to her Vulcan ancestor. It is..a sibling bond. We have our disagreements, our triumphs but above all else, she will always be my friend."

"Blood of the covenant is thicker than the waters of the womb." Kirk said wisely.

"Pardon?"

"Ah it's an old earth saying. It means that the relationships we form are stronger than any family bond we have."

The two Vulcans shared a look and somehow managed to synchronise biting into their sandwiches. Kirk followed suit, munching into his own. Then the food was gone, Kirk stretched out across the mat, tucking his hands up behind his head.

"What do you guys think of Spock?" He finally asked, glancing up at Skon, who was leaning his back against the tree.

"The commander is most acceptable and hospitable to us. I believe it deeply moved him to know that our kind has been targeted by slavers due to our small numbers, indicating an increase in price and demand for us. We are a novelty and must band together."

"What about you T'Koric?" T'Koric was sprawled out on her side seeming fascinated by a bug that had been hovering around them for some time.

"He is...safe. I...I must admit I have trouble remembering my father's face. I did not see him before we were evacuated. And now when I try to envision him I can only see Commander Spock." She held out her finger, the bug, which looked like a vaguely morphed butterfly, landed carefully on it.

"You know he'd probably adopt you two if you asked him about it." Kirk suggested, looking between the two children.

"We could hardly do that to him. His work is aboard a starship and to look after us full time would be impossible alone." Skon said, glancing at T'Koric.

"Unless you are also suggesting he take a mate to which they can look after us as well?" The girl joined in, flicking her eyes over to the captain.

"What are you two...?"

"Come on Spock! If you were any slower the sand would eat you alive!" Victoria's voice broke his concentration and he went to stand to look. Skon was on him within seconds, a hand on his shoulder keeping him on the ground. The voices of Spock and Victoria moved closer towards them.

"That statement is incorrect. The sand does not require nutrition."

"It's a joke Spock!"

He could practically hear the sigh in Spock words.

"Earth humour."

Victoria laughed, bright and bubbly.

"For a Vulcan you are highly illogical." Victoria gave a fake gasp.

"You wound me with such words. Look at me I'm cut to the bone." She said dramatically.

"You realise that words cannot physically harm you?"

"Oh Spock enough of that, help me set out this blanket." Their voices had finally stopped moving closer. It didn't take much to guess they were on the other side of the tree, both parties completely hidden from one another. There was a moment of silence as they laid out the blanket before Victoria let out a sigh.

"Do you think we can watch the stars come out from here?" She asked the older male. Kirk could imagine that Spock was giving her his signature look, raising his eyebrow gracefully.

"The temperature will drop below zero. It is not recommended we linger out here after nightfall."

"I suppose you're right." She hummed. "yel tsatik."

"What?" There was mingled sense of shock and surprise in Spock's voice.

"Huh? Oh! It's Vulcan isn't it? My mother said my father called me it a few times whilst she was carrying me. I actually never thought to ask what it meant." After a brief pause, Spock answered.

"It means 'secret star'."

"Huh. I suppose that's what I was. I wasn't supposed to be born after all."

"But you were."

"Yes. It was a testimony to my parents affections for each other. And proof that your father wasn't alone in falling in love with a human. That our races can be intertwined. We're compatible."

"What conclusion are you attempting to reach here."

"I'm saying I know Spock. Skon told me. And don't think I haven't seen proof myself.

"You do not know what you are talking about." Kirk could tell Spock had set his jaw.

"You just don't want to admit it because your scared he doesn't feel the same. Spock, you are in love with Jim aren't you?"

Spock fell silent. After a bit, he sighed heavily.

"You are perceptive Miss Victoria."

Also a devious mastermind. There was no way the Vulcan children had planned this on their own.

"Well?" Victoria questioned.

"I hardly find it fitting to reveal my inner feelings."

"Aw come on Spock, it's not like Jim can hear you out here, you can tell me."

Spock sighed once again.

"Jim is...a disaster." Victoria snorted. "He has little regard for rules when it comes to the endangerment of life. Even if warned against it, he follows his gut feeling....something I admire about him." Spock shifted, leaves crinkling under his weight. "Logic has predominantly led my whole life, everything was organised and neat but then suddenly...there was Jim. He is...an outlier. And the most fascinating man I have ever met. I suppose it was inevitable I would grow too deep into my affections for him. That I would depend on him too much. He brings out a side I have not seen in myself before and I am scared to like it. It is...unwise for me to pursue my captain."

"I knew there was a hopeless romantic within you."

The two half Vulcans sat and chatted for a while before Spock pointed out the approaching darkness and suggested they leave. Soon enough their voices drifted away as the two took their leave. At first Kirk couldn't move, even thought Skon had let him go. He was too stunned. To shocked by the words Spock had spoken about him. T'Koric had to remind him that the temperature would drop soon and that it was wise for them to return to the ship. Instead of walking back to town, Kirk got Scotty to beam them up from where they were. The children pardoned themselves as Kirk stumbled like a giddy schoolgirl to his room. That was the first time in a while he was happily asleep before he hit the pillow.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now realise my chapter writing varys very much. But we're starting to get into the real depth of the story now at least, or at least one of them ;)

In hopes of lessening the time they spent on Muomia, Kirk sent down workers to the town they'd spent yesterday in. He then le a small party down to the next village. He was a little disappointed that Spock hadn't appeared appeared to go with him. Scotty informed him that he and Victoria had gone down with the workers to help out the other village. It felt strange not having Spock by his side while he greeted the townspeople's representative, but he could handle it on his own. They showed him around town and even the spaceport that was in construction. He congratulated them on their work.  
Once the pleasantries were over, Kirk called down a team, who arrived promptly with several of the children who were eager to help once again. The two Vulcan children attached themselves to Kirk's side, aiding him as he settled into working on the towns power supply. With their help he was able to get it running again. Though their comments about his distraction from the task were unneeded. The sun finally hit the peak of its crest and the villagers called the over to share their food with them. Together they shared a meal and Kirk took the break to make a call to Spock.  
"Captain." Memories of yesterday sprung up in his mind.  
"How goes it Mr Spock?" He asked, trying his best not to sound too flustered.  
"The children's performance has improved moral in the town by twenty eight point nine six percent." He loved it when Spock spoke in numbers like that. "The houses are repaired and all that is left are some minor things."  
"Is that Jim? Can I talk to him?" Victoria spoke loudly, like she was sitting right next to Spock. There was the sound of the com being passed over before Victoria spoke again.  
"Hey Kirk, sorry we missed you this morning, Spock and I finished up an early morning session of meditation and then came planet side to finish off repairs. Right now we're sitting in this awesome bar that I didn't even know was here. Apparently there are other people who are visiting this town as well, I didn't think people travelled that much out this far."  
"It is only logical to assume that they do given the evidence." Spock's voice cut in.  
"Yeah I guess that's true. Anyway how is everything on your end?"  
"Great, we fixed up their main energy source and we've been enlisted in helping them with their spaceport hub. Obviously we won't be here long enough to see it but, every bit of effort counts. T'Koric and Skon are here with me and...." Kirk drifted off as he noticed the dust rising from outside the town limits.  
"Jim?" Victoria's voice barely registered as he stood and watched the smoke cloud growing closer.  
"I gotta go Vic." He hung up before she could reply.

Victoria looked down at the now silent communicator in her hand.  
"He hung up on me." She said dejected. Spock narrowed his eyes. That wasn't a good sign. He lowered his spoon carefully. Victoria put the comm down on the table between them. She looked up at Spock, seeking guidance and answers. Then her eyes drifted past him, to settle on someone behind him.  
"Watch out!" She reached across the table and batted his head out of the way in time, but took the phaser shot to the shoulder instead. She crashed down onto the table as Spock rose, drawing his own phaser to fire on the offender. He missed. The rest of the patrons of the bar ran for the door as Spock grabbed Victoria and overthrew a table to block the incoming shots. He was worried for Victoria, but right now had to get them out of this predicament.  
"Spock!" He swung and fired in the direction she was pointing, but it was too late. The shot caught him square in the side. He hit the ground in a heap, green blood spurting from the wound.  
" _Spock_!"

Kirk was finding himself running. He held on tightly to the two young vulcan children's hands as they ran through the town together. Communications had gone down the second the bikers had rolled into town and their only choice was to hide before they found them. Two Vulcans and a star ship captain were prizes he wasn't willing to give over easily. They skidded around a corner into the shadows and Kirk took the chance to breath. Thankfully he wasn't wearing his gold uniform, he'd had enough sense to know he was going to be working and he didn't want to ruin the shirt. Still, blacks under a hot sun weren't easy.  
"We have to keep moving Captain." Skon insisted, tugging in his sleeve. He puffed, trying to get out a reply when the sound of a bike echoed down their narrow street.  
"There you are!"  
"Run!" Kirk fired off a few shots at the biker before he hurriedly followed the children out of the road. Only they were waiting for them. T'Koric was snatched up by the scruff of her neck, Skon being forced to the ground.  
"You let them go now!" Kirk charged forwards, but before he could reach them something hard collided with the back of his head and he bit the dust.  
" _Captain_!"

_______________________

Victoria snapped awake and for a few moments was confused. She could have sworn she heard T'Koric screaming. She was in sick bay, and she could see a few nurses wandering around. With a small groan she tried to force herself up. A strong hand caught her shoulder.  
"Oh no you don't darlin'." The gruff voice of McCoy drew her gaze.  
"What happened?"  
"A complete shit show, that's what. You and the hobgoblin ended up in a damn bar fight." The memories came back like a truck hitting her. She fell back against the pillows.  
"Spock...oh my god is he...?"  
"He'll live." MyCoy released her shoulder. "Those people who attacked you have identified themselves as slavers, they were told to off you if they found you."  
"It must have been that man...the one Kirk didn't help because of me...someone else must have..."  
McCoy placed a hand across her forehead.  
"You've gotten a fever, stay down. Ain't gunna do anyone any good if your dead."  
"Dr McCoy, where's Jim?"  
The doctor sighed and cross his arms.  
"That's the real mystery." He sat on the edge of her bed. "A dust storm cropped up and blew out all our transmissions with the party on the ground. By the time we got them back..." He paused for a moment. "Jim and the two kids were gone, along with a couple of the children and locals from the town."  
Instantly, tears welled up in Victoria's eyes.  
"No...no...."  
"Hush now, cryin' won't solve anythin'." His words only seemed to make her weep harder. He groaned and reached out to wrap her in a tight hug, being careful of her injured shoulder. "Damn it all, I'm worried too ya hear. But until you and the pointy eared bastard are better there's nothin' we can do to try and find them." He pulled her back so she could look at him. "And we will find them, none of us are givin' up until we do."  
She hiccuped softly, but nodded. She had to be strong for the sake of those who were lost.

______________________

When Kirk woke, he was cramped and uncomfortable, his neck tilted at an odd angle. It took him a second for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. It felt like he was in some kind of cage, the metal bars surrounding him. Reaching out blindly he grabbed hold and tried to force it, only achieving to make the door rattle against the lock.  
"Captain?" He turned his head to the sound of the voice beside him.  
"Skon?"  
"I'm here.." A small hand reached through the bars and grabbed a hold of his arm. Kirk placed his own over the top of the boys trembling hand.  
"We've been captured by slavers haven't we?"  
"Bandits actually. Who then sold us to slavers. No doubt they'll be taking us to someplace where they'll sell us off."  
"Where's T'Koric?"  
Another hand reached through the bars to grab him. He realised it was her seeking comfort. He shifted around until he could hold both their hands through the bars. Despite his own feelings, he forced himself to project happy thoughts. He showed them the blue oceans of earth, the calming way the waves rolled over one another. The sparkling of the stars in the sky on a clear night. A full moon at its brightest and most stunning. He knew that Vulcans weren't supposed to be mystified or amazed by these things, but it was distraction enough for the children and that was his goal. Eventually he noticed they had fallen asleep to the soothing thoughts of the wind whispering through the trees and rain on a tin roof.  
It felt like hours he was trapped in that cramped space, holding the hands of the sleeping Vulcans. He'd deduced from the mild hiccups of their journey they were on a shuttle of some kind. They must be heading for a larger ship. A shuttle wasn't made to cross the distance between the planets out his far. By this point he would have tried to pick his way out of the cage, but he feared letting go of the children's hands just in case. So he sat in silence, focusing on their soft breathing instead. While he was thankful he wasn't alone, part of him wished it wasn't the young ones who were with him. They were scared and not at all used to combat. If it came to a fight he would protect them with his life.  
The shuttle finally jerked to a stop, almost hurling him against the bars. It shocked the two children awake as well. Without warning the sheet, that he hadn't realised was there, was drawn off their cages, light hitting their eyes suddenly. He flinched back, blinking roughly.  
"Aww, look, their holdin' hands." He heard a female voice sneer before the jangling of keys. His sight came back into focus. A rough looking woman, completely covered in scales with a scar down the left side of her face, was leaning over them, smirking. The sight of her didn't give him any confidence but to cling tighter to the Vulcans hands. Behind her was a beefy male with crossed arms watching with a blank gaze.  
"Get the kids out and ready for show, the male can stay put."  
Kirk hissed.  
"I am not letting you take _my children_ away from me." He snarled.  
"Like we would believe their yours, you're not Vulcan." The woman kicked his cage roughly. He wasn't deterred though.  
"Their mother was a Vulcan but I am their father and _you will not take them away_. Where they go I go."  
The scaled woman spat on him.  
"Fine, but I can't be held responsible if this buyer wants them and not you." She said before unlocking both the cages. The man dragged Kirk to his feet and roughly bound his hands behind his back with rope. He then motioned for the children to get out and tired their hands with the same piece of rope. He then shoved Kirk to move.  
"Alright princess don't get too cocky." Kirk remarked starting to walk. The man growled and pushed him again. They were shuffled out single file, the beefy man being replaced by two other reptilian like people. He could only assume that meant they weren't the only people captured. The two lizard people, as he had dubbed them, led them down the ramp and off the shuttle. They had arrived in a space station, one he had never seen on federations radar before. How many bases weren't on record? Spock would have a field day categorising them if he ever dared to find out. Spock. His heart jumped at the thought of the Vulcan.  
By now he would have noticed the absence of both his captain and his kin. Kirk could only hope that, already, he was trying to find them. He was as stubborn as he was brilliant. He glanced back at Skon and T'Koric. Both were watching their feet as they trudged along behind him. One of the lizard people pulled him to a stop before dragging the two children around to stand next to him. He shot them a warning glance, ready to attack if they hurt the kids. They lined up the rest of the people they captured. The doors in front of them slid open to reveal a short, stout man. His waistcoat looked about ready to pop a button; an annoying spring in his step as he approached them.  
"Yes very good.." He mused looking them all over. "Vulcan children will be pleasant servants course but...hmm.. This one does not look to good.."  
He placed the top of his cane under Kirk's chin, forcing his head up.  
"Human, young, handsome, no use to me unless he can work."  
"I can work sir." Kirk cut in. The man slapped him hard across the face.  
"You do not speak to me!" He spat.  
"Father..." Skon looked up at Kirk, eyes wide.  
"Oh...these little Vulcans are yours are they? Speak!"  
Kirk had to bite down on his tongue to avoid making a remark that would get him in worse trouble.  
"Yes sir. Their mother, my wife, was a Vulcan."  
"Oh, how quaint." He sounded sarcastic.  
"You wouldn't separate a father from his kids would you?" The man smacked Kirk again.  
"I will not pay for him."  
"We will happily throw him in for free, Garot. Your mine will soon break him, I have no doubts."  
"Good. I will take three of your humans as well for the mines." He threw the lizard woman a pouch of money. She caught it with an excited gleam in her eyes. "Get them onto the ship, chop chop." The men, who Kirk hadn't noticed follow Garot out, suddenly had them surrounded. They were led back through the door Garot had entered through and down a path. Before long the guards turned them into an airlock and they were on another ship. Their hands were unbound only for the purpose of shoving them into cages. At least this time around T'Koric and Skon were in the same cage as him. He didn't care how squished and uncomfortable it was, they were together, that was what mattered to him.  
"I'm not going to leave you kids for as long as I can, you hear?" He promised them, hugging both tightly into his chest. It was going to be a long journey wherever they were headed now. Far off he heard the sounds of the engine starting up and orders being given to retract from the dock. He pulled the children closer, hoping to shield them from it all, if only for a little while.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas 1st! Only 24 days until Christmas Day! I'm nearing the end of draft writing this story, almost at 20 chapters so don't worry, there still plenty to come! As always, hope you enjoy :)

At some point Kirk had fallen asleep, curled around the two children protectively. He was rudely awoken when someone roughly kicked the cage, shaking them into consciousness. He fought back a growl at the man standing over their cage. It would do them no good if he got into a fight. The man opened the cage door and motioned for them to get out. While he moved onto the next few cages, Kirk made sure to clamber out first, then turn to help the children out. T'Koric wouldn't let go, so he held her in his arms tightly. Within seconds one of the guards was onto him. He all but tore T'Koric from Kirk's arms, the girl screaming, Kirk yelling. He was beaten down into the floor, Skon forced down beside him. T'Koric was thrown.

"You've barely been out of your cage a minute and you're already more trouble than you're worth." Garot sneered as he appeared, looming over the three of them. Kirk was dragged up to his knees by two of the guards.

"With all due respect sir, my daughter is scared." His words only made him receive another blow to the face. He could taste the metal sting of blood on his lips. Garot ignored him, stepping over to Skon. He raised his foot then used it to force the boys head into the ground, pressing his weight down on him.

"If you don't start behaving, there will be sever punishment." As if to press his point, he pushed down on Skons head. The boy cried out in pain and fear.

"OKAY! Okay! I will behave! Please just let him go..." Garot lifted his foot from Skon's head.

"What's your name scum?"

"...Tiberius." Kirk responded after a second.

"Well Tiberius, just to make sure you keep behaving, I'm going to have your children be my servants in my home. If I get so much as a whiff of you stirring up trouble in the mines not only will I make an example of you, but your children as well. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir.."

"Good. Take him away."

Kirk looked to Skon and T'Koric. Skon was watching him, fear in his young eyes. Kirk offered him a small smile, trying to lift his spirits. He'd figure a way out. No way was he going to let them rot in some mine on the edge of space. They dragged Kirk to his feet and started leading him away down a corridor to the right. He didn't resist, not with the children's lives on the line. It had been so easy to lie and pretend them to be his own children. He was even more surprised that Skon had played along. At least the boy had understood what he'd been trying to achieve. Even if they were far from him, at least they were in the same place. That was good enough for him.

The end of the corridor opened up to the outside world. It was dry, barren, and hot. No greenery in sight. Tall wire fences led them away from the station towards a large manor on a hill. Before they reached it, they took a sharp left turn and headed down a staircase. The stairs led down to an elevator. From where they were now he could see the depth of the pit below. It sank down deep into the earth, at least a kilometer deep. Hundreds of people were already working at the stone, under the hot midday sun. He had a bad feeling they didn't supply sunscreen here. They stepped onto the elevator, one of the guards pressing a button to start their descent. He cast one last glance behind him to see others like him being guided from the dock to the mine.

It was slow, slow enough to make him fidget slightly. Which only earned him a blow to the stomach. He didn't fidget after that. Upon reaching the bottom he was shoved off. Kirk stumbled but caught himself before he fell face first.

"Sargent, got some fresh meat here."

The Sargent turned out to be a huge man with biceps like boulders and broad shoulders. He turned on Kirk immediately. He as wearing the same uniform as the rest of the guards, though his had a small blue pendant pinned onto his chest. Most likely marking him as the leader. He shoved a pick and some clothing into Kirk's hands.

"On with you maggot, get to digging." He ordered, pointing over to an area with only a few workers. Kirk looked, then started making his way over. He dropped the clothing by his feet, picking up the pick and weighing it in his hand. It was top heavy and uncomfortable to hold. The blood stains on it didn't give him any confidence either. But he was doing this to keep the kids safe, and that's what he reminded himself as he struck a blow. With fierce determination, and quite possibly stubbornness, he got stuck into his work. A few hours under the sun and he was confident he was suffering from heatstroke. The guards bought round water, but only let them take a tiny sip before it was snatched away. He had to stop himself back from fighting for more.

When the sun dropped below the horizon, somewhere off in the distance a whistle blew. Workers around him were picking up their things and starting to shuffle off in single file. He snatched up his clothes and followed after them. They headed down into a cave, which by the looks of it, had been craved out by the slaves themselves. The first room was large with a tall ceiling, a sort of a mess hall or a gather point. Several guards were posted around the room, ever watching. Dotted around the room were what was best described as troughs. Like a long singular bowl. They stood about a foot off the ground and the slaves were already gathering around them. From the large room led off tunnels. Kirk guessed they were the sleeping areas, where it was huddle or freeze.

One of the guards came in from the outside, carrying a large pot. He proceeded to start pouring the slop into the troughs, the porridge looking substance running down the length. Continued his work until all the troughs had something in them before he walked out again. Kirk took a spot at the end of one trough, looking down at the substance within. McCoy would have a fit at the health violations of this. He took the dive though, shoving his hand in to scoop some out and bring it to his face. He gave it a cautionary sniff, watching the other slaves chow down. Throwing caution to the wind, he licked it.

It tasted absolutely horrendous. He coughed and spat to his side, wanting to gag. He couldn't even _begin_ to describe the flavours his tastebuds had just endured. A few of the slaves around him watched with mild amusement. One of the men next to him patted him on the back.

"You'll get used to it new comer."

Kirk took a few moments to sit back up. He looked to the man who had spoke to him. Dark eyes were sunken into his skull, warm umber skin drawn taunt against his bones. He smiled at Kirk, teeth yellowing. Clapping Kirk on the back again, he laughed.

"What's your name kid?"

"Tiberius." Kirk responded, looking down at the mess on his hand. If this was the food he was going to be offered, he'd have to eat it. He tried again, stuffing it into his mouth and swallowing it quickly before his tastebuds could get too carried away.

"That's the way kid, this is the only meal we get so you gotta eat." Kirk paused.

"They only feed us once a day?"

"Yup, so scoff yourself while you can."

He didn't like the sound of that. They worked all day with no food. Then again he supposed they could choose not to feed them at all.

"So what's your name?" Kirk asked turning to the man.

"Tidus." They shook hands that we're' trying covered in dinner.

"How long you been here?" He swallowed another amount of the 'food'.

"Somewhere between twelve months and a year." Tidus joked. Kirk laughed but there was no smile in his eyes. A whole year trapped in a place like this. Tidus then turned to address someone else and Kirk took to scanning the room. A woman, dressed better than all of them combined, stepped in through the door. A few of the slaves got up and walked over to her to greet her. The guards twitched and went to stop them, but a wave of the woman's hand dismissed them. She greeted the slaves like friends and even moved to sit down at one of the troughs with them.

"Who's the lady?" Kirk asked, nudging Tidus.

"Oh that's Lady Hannah. She's Garot's only daughter and his youngest so she gets away with a lot. She comes down here to visit us every night and tend to any wounded."

"So I take it she doesn't agree with her father's tactic of slaves?"

"Not at all. If she could she would leave and take us all with her to return us to our homes. But she's under her mothers control while she's still underage."

Hannah rose from her spot, her laugher ringing like soft bells as she turned. Spotting Tidus she moved over to him.

"Hello Tidus, how is everyone in your section today?" The slaves shifted to make a spot for her next to Tidus.

"Foods crap as usual." He offered with a short bark of a laugh.

"And who is this." She pointed at Kirk.

"This is Tiberius, fresh meat from just today."

"Nice to meat you Lady Hannah." Kirk greeted with a nod. She smiled and nodded in return.

"Where are you from Tiberius?"

"Earth. Originally anyway. Been travelling around a bit." Well it wasn't exactly a lie. She smiled and nodded. "So your Garot's daughter huh? And you help the slaves?"

"Yes. No one should work in these conditions and I am ashamed my father condones it." Kirk nodded in understanding, and then realisation hit him.

"Could I ask you for a favour?" She looked surprised, as did Tidus.

"Boy you don't just ask for favours." Tidus started to chastise but Hannah cut him off.

"What is it you would ask of me?"

"Your father is holding my children as hostage for my compliance. They're up at the manor, he's probably got them working as servants. All I ask of you is please keep an eye out for them as I can't. They're two Vulcan children, Skon and T'Koric."

Both Hannah and Tidus lost their looks of surprise and smiled.

"You must care deeply for your children." Hannah said softly.

"They are all I have. Please, I beg of you, don't let anything harm them while I can't protect them."

"I will Tiberius." She promised with a kind smile. "And perhaps I can sneak them down to see you soon, would that be acceptable?"

"Yes...god, yes, thank you. Thank you so much."

"You are welcome."

______________________

The knowledge that Hannah was willing to help him take care of the kids was enough to keep him motivated the next day. Despite the growling in his stomach demanding for food, he kept going, pounding away at the rock. The sun was hot on his back and he was sure that the back of his neck was badly sunburned from the day. But even that didn't lower his spirits as they were led into the feeding room. If he could see the children, know that they were alright, then he would be fine enduring down in the mine.

He sat with Tidus again, struggling to eat the slop they were fed again. Every few seconds he would glance around to the door to see if Hannah had arrived yet. Tidus reminded him she would appear when she could. It still made him nervous. What if she didn't show and she had been lying? The slaves seemed to trust her but maybe he shouldn't have been so quick to. He'd only been there less than a day. But any chance he could take to see the kids he would. He had to make sure they were alright. Finally Tidus nudged him and his eyes shot to the door. Hannah glided in as graceful as she had the day before, followed by two young children.

"Skon! T'Koric!" He couldn't contain himself or his joy. He was on his feet within seconds running straight for them.

"Father!" Skon spotted him first, dragging T'Koric with him. Kirk hit his knees just in time for the two children to collide with his chest, wrapping his arms around them. They buried into his chest, gripping him tightly. He hushed them, brushing down T'Korics hair, feeling the girl shaking against him. Hannah followed after them, pausing as she watched them.

"I had my doubts they were really your children, but now I see you care for them so much." Kirk looked up at her.

"Thank you for bringing them to me."

"They cannot stay with you." The thought broke his heart.

"I understand. Though it hurts.."

"I will strive to bring them down when I can."

"Thank you."

Kirk easily picked them up, one in each arm. Hannah fell into steps with him as they made their way back over to Tidus

"Are they feeding you up in that manor?" He turned his attention to Skon, T'Koric was too far buried into his shoulder.

"Yes. But they would not tell me if the substance they offered us was vegetarian friendly. I do not think they understood Vulcan philosophy." He had to laugh at that one.

"I'm sure they don't. Spock would probably tell you to avoid it but considering our circumstances, it's best you put aside your doubts and eat while you can." Skon nodded. Kirk when to put them down so he could sit, but the two clung onto him tighter. He sighed and relented, having to manoeuvre to sit and keep the kids in his arms. While he couldn't properly eat like this, it didn't matter. They were both safe and with him for now.

"The nape of your neck is burning..." Skon said, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I got a bit sunburnt, I'll be fine."

"But...you could develop skin cancers or..."

"Skon." The boy fell silent. "There's nothing we can do about it alright?" The Vulcan nodded, but Kirk knew he was already trying to logic his way into a new argument.

"So you married a Vulcan huh?" Tidus asked, turning Kirk's attention to him.

"Yeah. A happy accident if you ask me."

"Never heard a female Vulcan named Spock though.."

"Oh Spock's not my wife. My wife passed when...well...you might not have heard but Vulcan was destroyed. These guys managed to get out in time and I was off planet."

Tidus nodded.

"Then who is Spock?"

"Spock is...was their teacher. I wasn't going to deny them part of their heritage. He was partly a glorified babysitter but the kids loved him regardless."

Hannah had settled herself beside Kirk.

"Lady Hannah." Skon rested his head against Kirk's shoulder. "Are we required to return to the manor within the next hour?"

She raised an eyebrow but shook her head.

"It should be alright. But you really should let your father eat something, he has to keep his strength up."

Though he seemed like he didn't want to let go, he slid from Kirk's grasp to sit beside him, allowed the man to eat. He stayed close, practically stuck to Kirk's side. Once the meal was done, the slaves rose and started shuffling off down into the sleeping rooms. Kirk stood with Hannah for a moment, holding the children close.

"Now you guys be good you hear? Don't take any risks, just do as your told even if you hate it." They nodded.

"But father you are human, your constitution may not be able to handle the pressures and if you die then what will we-" Kirk crushed the Vulcan boy into his shoulder, silencing him.

"You stop thinking like that right now young man. I'm tougher than I look alright? You have to trust me, I'm not leaving you kids alone in this hell hole." He promised, feeling hot tears on his neck. He cooed softly, trying to calm him down. "Trust me."

"I do..." He finally replied, pulling back to look Kirk in the face. "I just do not like having to be separated from you. T'Koric and I need you, now more than ever."

"Lady Hannah here is going to bring you to me as often as she can alright? It might not be every day but I swear I'm not far from you." He placed a hand on the young boys face, so he could feel the resolve within him. "Stay strong Skon, it'll be okay." He released them and stood. They grabbed his hands for one final comforting squeeze of reassurance, before Hannah guided them away calmly. T'Koric looked back at him, pausing briefly to blow him a kiss. He pretended to catch it, pressing the hand and over his heart. He saw the faintest of smiles before she was gone. Part of him wondered who had taught her that. Tidus shocked him out of his thoughts by suddenly clapping him on the back and suggesting they get some rest. It was going to be long days from here on out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly no rescue for Kirk and our cuties yet, more to come soon!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEW CHAPTER WOOT. I quite like this one but the next one is even better, so stay tuned for that. As always, enjoy!

That brief hour he could spend with the children became the time he lived for. Sometimes he even forgot they truly weren't his children, the way the three of them seamlessly connected. It was like having Bones and Spock by his side. He was complete with them there. When they were gone it was just lost time until they were back in his arms. The thought of them kept him working, kept him digging as the pit grew ever deeper and time drew on. Three months passed in this fashion, wake, work, eat and sleep, with the children taking up some time during the eat phase. At first he thought he would never adjust, not only to the schedule but to his own changes. His weight had dropped to an all time low and he felt permanently hungry but could never eat more than a few mouthfuls.

His mental situation was more difficult. There were times during the day where he'd happily welcome a boulder to come and squash him. Other times he was fine, he'd hum a tune in his head or think about a story. The children were his only real grounding point. If he died, so did they. So for their sake, he had to live. T'Koric was still silent, having not spoken a word since they were captured. Hannah often commented on it, but Kirk never gave her much of an answer beyond the fact she saw her planet be destroyed and now she was a slave. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that he had promised the girl she would be safe with him. Yet with him she'd wound up in this situation.

Some days Hannah didn't come at all. Those were the days he struggled to sleep properly, wondering if it meant they were dead. Tortured at the hands of a maniac or a guard looking for a thrill. She always appeared the following day though and that calmed his shot nerves. Tidus had become a decent friend and ally. The two spoke over their horrible food, and the children seemed to like him. Enough that Skon didn't mind sitting next to him. With T'Koric was hard to tell, she mostly clung to Kirk like a leech, not willing to let go until she was pried off. The contact was enough that he knew she was terrified and so very lost.

Another day Hannah didn't appear at the evening meal. Not at first. Kirk had just resigned himself to another sleepless night when she did appear, but not alone. Garot stood tall and proud next to her, grinning from ear to ear.

"This ought to be good." Tidus murmured under his breath to Kirk, who smirked then bit down to hide it.

"I have a proposition for you slaves. We have visitors coming from another mining colony like ours and I need more of you up in the manor to help serve. So I would like some volunteers.." He looked around expectantly. Down in the mines they were whipped when they were working to slow. Kirk had more than enough scars across his back from their punishment. But they had heard stories of what happened to the slaves in the manor. Beaten half to death and left bleeding on the tiles. After a few more seconds, he stood.

"I volunteer." Working in the manor at least guaranteed him access to his- the children, and perhaps an escape route. Garot grinned.

"Excellent. Anyone else?" Tidus stood beside him.

"Aye." From there a few more stood, although hesitant. Once he had about twenty volunteers Garot clapped.

"Fantastic. Tomorrow morning the guards will bring you up to the manor and you'll be put to work to clean and prepare the rooms. Then you are to report to Hannah for assignments. Your only job is too make yourself useful to these visitors because if your good that means less lashes for you when you return to the mines." With a sickening grin, the man turned and made his way out, followed by a few guards. Hannah moved over to Kirk and Tidus.

"Oh Tiberius what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about my children. I don't care if I displease these visitors and they beat me, I just want to see my kids for more than an hour a day." Hannah pursed her lips and turned to Tidus.

"And what about you?"

"I can't let him have all the fun now can I?" He placed a hand on Kirk's shoulder. "I have your back."

"Thank you Tidus. I got yours."

"These visitors are going to be the death of you two.." Hannah muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

__________________

The next morning Hannah came with the guards to pick them up. Mostly just to 'make sure they do not rough you up before you start'. Kirk was sure they would still find a way to even with her around. They obeyed her, but it was obvious they would follow her father into the depths of hell. They were given a minor rinse off with a hose. Three months worth of dirt and rock all but drained away and he felt a little naked without it. They were given cleaner clothes to change into then sent straight to work preparing rooms. Hannah flitted around, offering a guiding hand or a word of advice every so often. She was a godsend to them as they struggled to finish in time.

Garot had them line up neatly off to the side, to give the appearance of professionalism. He wanted everything to be perfect. These so called visitors were probably offering him money if they liked what they saw. It was obvious Garot was a self built man working off other people's cash. At least before his mine had started digging up precious minerals that sold for ridiculous prices. Slave labor was still slave labor though, whatever planet or system they were in. Rebha, Garot's pointy nosed wife, had just finished fixing his tie, when one of the guards announced the guests were here. Garot waved a hand to signal they were ready to receive.

The door opened to reveal a stunningly beautiful woman. With a dress of deepest red that floated down around her ankles she all but floated in. Graceful she offered her hand to Garot, murmuring something delicately in French. When he went to kiss it, she pulled it back with a laugh, shaking her finger at him. Then she turned and he caught a glimpse of her face as she held out her hand to the door. He had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping. Uhura smiled at the figure who stepped through the door next, taking her hand.

He was dressed sharply in a neat suit and tie get up. Hair slicked back, for a moment he was unrecognisable. Then he smiled and Kirk realised it was Sulu. It took every ounce of his being not to leap out and yell that he was here, that they had found him. Sulu motioned for the door, and Kirk's eyes darted as to who would be next. To his surprise it was Chekov in a suit with Victoria in a full length sundress on his arm. He was so stunned by the appearances, he hadn't been listening to the conversation.

"-these are our children, Pavel and Amelie. Adopted of course as you may realise. We do hope you don't mind them joining us." Sulu spoke calmly, an easy smile.

"Of course not, they are welcome."

"And Amelie's teacher as well, we are hoping she will learn Vulcan from him." Uhura said, motioning to the door. Kirk's heart leapt into his throat as Spock stepped into the doorway. He bowed once respectfully, then took to standing behind Victoria and Chekov.

"Ah, yes, we have some Vulcans here as well. Hannah be a dear and go and fetch those Vulcan children you're so fond of." Garot waved a hand at her. Kirk's insides froze. Skon would be able to hold himself back, but T'Koric would run right to Spock the moment she saw him. Then the whole ruse would be broken. When he was sure all eyes were on the guests, he nudged Tidus slightly.

"When I move, cover over my gap.." He whispered to the man. Tidus looked shell shocked.

"Where the hell you going?"

"Uh...bathroom break?" Kirk said before he took one final glance and stepped back out of line.

"Tiberius.." Tidus warned, but he still shifted over a bit to make the gap less obvious. Kirk gave him a small grin before he slipped behind the other slaves and into the corridor behind them out of sight. If his crew were here it meant the _Enterprise_ was nearby. Hurriedly he skittered off in hopes of finding Hannah. They'd only been given a brief tour of the house but his best guess was to try the sleeping quarters first. He took the stairs down two at a time reaching the bottom as Hannah appeared at them.

"Tiberius what are you...?" He shushed her and grabbed T'Korics hand. The girl froze at the touch.

"Listen to me. No matter what or who you see, you can't." He said hurriedly. He knew it wouldn't be long before his absence was noticed. The girl shook her head, tears starting to well up. "T'Koric, promise me." The tears dripped down her face. He pulled her into a hug. Her whole form shook violently and it took a bit of calming to bring her back down.

"T'Koric..." She looked to him. "Promise me."

She sniffed, rubbed her nose roughly, then nodded. Hannah looked utterly perplexed.

"Tiberius what on earth is going on?"

"No time to explain, I have to get back in line."

"Tiberius!" He didn't stop, simply hurried back up the stairs and back through the corridors. He checked around, the guards hadn't yet seemed to noticed the absence. As stealthy as he could he slipped behind the slaves again and back into place. Just when he thought he'd performed perfectly-

"Mr Tiberius." Garot called him out. His crew turned to look at him. Somehow they all managed to keep straight faces, though he saw the shift in a Spock's eyes as he took in the vast changes Kirk had gone through in three months. Kirk stepped forward out of line.

"Yes sir?"

"Did you think I wouldn't notice you slipping off?" Garot asked, waving for a guard to step over beside him.

"Well, yes sir." The guards punched him hard in the stomach. If he'd eaten that day, he would have thrown it up. Still he hacked and coughed.

"And what was so important that you had to sneak off?"

"My children." Another punch straight to the gut left him doubling over.

"Speaking of them, here they are now." Hannah had appeared at the top of the staircase, hand in hand with the two Vulcan children. Skon released her hand and went to run to Kirk, but she grabbed his shoulder and held him back.

"Now didn't I tell you I'd make an example of not only you but your children as well if you gave any trouble? Well now's a better time than any to hold good on that promise." Two guards swooped in an grabbed the Vulcan children as Kirk was shoved down to his knees. They were forced down beside him. Garot took the offered baton.

"Now you pay for your insolence." He raised the bat.

"No!" Victoria cried out before she could stop herself. Chekov caught her before she could leap forwards. His touch seemed to remind her they were playing a very dangerous game. "Oh Pavel I cannot watch!" She wailed, turning and throwing herself into his arms. Garot lowered the bat.

"Our Amelie is very sensitive to violence, perhaps this could wait another time?" Sulu suggested. Garot frowned but relented, handing the baton back to its owner.

"Very well, I shall have Tiberius here put in the cells for a night."

"On the contrary Mr Garot, I think it would be torture enough for him to serve our tutor. The man speaks in mostly riddles after all." Uhura cut in. "And I'm sure our darling children would be happy to keep the Vulcans under close watch."

"Father it is most agreeable." Hannah said quietly. Garot looked to her then nodded.

"Very well, let him up." Kirk staggered to his feet, the two children shifting to grab his legs. "But this is only for now." He warned in an under breath. Kirk looked down at the children. Garot dismissed the rest of the guards and had the slaves start to show the guests to their rooms. Kirk took hold of the kids hands and headed for Spock, Victoria and Chekov.

"Your rooms are this way."

They followed after him quietly, not a word spoken between them. He paused only to show Victoria to her room and leave her with T'Koric and Skon, the door shutting on a heartfelt scene of reunion. Chekov was across the hall, sneaking in a hug with his captain which Kirk knew they both sorely needed. Then he showed Spock to his room. He closed the door behind himself and sighed. He looked up to find Spock watching him, dark eyes intense.

" _Spock_..." The name had barely left his lips before Spock had cleared the distance between them, wrapping his arms around Kirk. He returned the embrace, burying his face into the mans shoulder, breathing deeply the mingled scent. He was slightly shocked that Spock had been the one to initiate the hug, but he was happy all the same. His arm reached back across the other man's shoulders, firmly pressing them together.

"Spock I missed you." Kirk said softly.

"I was starting to loose hope we would find you alive." Spock admitted, tugging him in tighter.

"Yeah well I was starting to think you'd never find me.." Kirk grumbled into his shoulder.

The hug was lasting longer than he'd expected. Not that he minded at all. He could feel Spock's heartbeat on his side, the reminder that Spock was here, and real and holding him flush against his chest. Finally he drew back, holding the Vulcan at arms length, mostly just to look at him.

"So tell me what's been happening."

Spock waved a hand to motion for him to sit on the edge of the bed. So he did. Spock took to pacing absently as he recalled the last few months on board the _Enterprise_. When they realised their captain was gone they made sure that no general panic broke out. Spock had taken over command, temporarily promoting Scotty to his first officer. Victoria had been in pieces. She'd lost some of those she'd sworn to protect, and Kirk had become her dear friend. To loose both in such a way had wrecked her. It had taken a week to get her back on her feet with encouragement from McCoy. The rest of the crew, while worried, had taken it better, preparing a full on search of the bandits base.

Their search had only turned up contacts of slavers, and Spock had come to the worst conclusion. That they had been sold before they had even found the base. After questioning several of the bandits they told them of the different slaver groups they sold to. Any number of them could be the ones who had them. McCoy managed to loosen their tongues a bit further through means Spock didn't wish to discuss. That was staying off record. But it had led them to the particular slavers they had been sold too. Next came tracking them down. Victoria knew some the slavers space ports. She'd found data on the ruined shuttle computer and memorised the information just in case. They could only hope that they'd been taken to one of the ones she was aware of.

That was how the next two months had been spent, visiting space ports incognito and trying to locate where two Vulcan children might have been sold to. It turned out Sulu played a rather good hand of poker and through that found out that two Vulcan children had been seen at a particular spaceport not to far. They were sold along with a few other humans to a mining planet. Next came trying to figure out who had bought them as Spock calculated there were nineteen mining planets within three days travel, and twenty five within six. There was some breaking and entering to find the ports database of ships that were docked in the time frame they were there. Using that information Chekov and Spock were able to locate where the ships had seemed to come from.

It was then that Uhura and Scotty, with a dash of Victoria's Kirk-like insanity, had come up with a scheme. They would disguise themselves as potential buyers of stocks to gain access. While they were distracted impressing Uhura and Sulu, Spock would be able to wander around and search for their missing people. This was the third planet they'd pulled this stunt and no one had figured them out yet. Kirk gave a low whistle.

"I must say Mr Spock, you have outdone yourself."

"Thank you, Captain." The man turned and retrieved something from his bag. When he turned back around Kirk frowned.

"Bones put you up to this didn't he!" He demanded, standing and backing away as Spock rested the med kit on the bed.

"Dr McCoy insisted I check on your injuries the moment the opportunity arose. Captain, I require that you remove your shirt." Kirk clutched as the hem.

"No." He said indignantly, like a small child. Spock snatched at his arm, Kirk only just dodging out of the way.

"Captain, may I remind you I am three times stronger than you."

"So your going to force me out of it." Kirk hissed and moved backwards again as Spock attempted to catch him.

"Resistance is futile and also implies there is something you do not wish for me to see. Therefore you are hiding an injury. Please Jim, let me help you." Brown eyes softened just enough for Kirk to hesitate. It cost him as the Vulcan caught him and then pinned him down to the bed, hovering above him.

"That was not fair!" Kirk demanded, struggling against his first officer.

"You would not cooperate, a ruse was needed. Now please stay still." Spock retorted. Before Spock could move however he was clobbered over the head, knocking him off Kirk. The perpetrator raised the weapon, a book, and Kirk's hand shot out to grab the arm.

"Hannah stop!" Kirk pleaded, the girl turning her fierce gaze on him.

"Are you alright Tiberius?" She asked, reaching out to touch his cheek gently before she raised her book again as Spock stood. "We do not permit you to use our servants as you please! Your sexual desires-"

"Hannah!" Kirk pulled on her arm and she looked to him again. "Hannah he's not trying to rape me. Vulcans are pacifists."

She lowered the book, looking between them.

"Then why-"

"He is stubborn, and will not allow me to tend to his wounds." Spock rubbed his head where the book had hit him. "I assure you, I was not attempting to take advantage of him, merely exploiting his fatigue to attempt to help him."

"Oh....oh I am sorry. I hope you may forgive me."

"I accept your apology. Perhaps we can work together to convince Jim to allow us to help."

"Jim?" Hannah sounded confused and Kirk rubbed his nose. This was going to be hard to explain to the girl.

"Yes. Tiberius is his middle name, I can only assume he did not wish to burden you with his real identity."

"Hannah." Kirk drew the girl to sit beside him. He sighed. "My real name is James T. Kirk. Captain James T. Kirk. This is Spock my first officer. The others with him are various members of my crew."

"Oh my. Captain? Oh...I understand now. Father would have tried exploiting you had he known what valuable information you possessed. Oh but your children-"

"Not my children. They were orphaned after Vulcans destruction. We rescued them from a crashed slaver ship. I lied to keep us together, none of us would have survived otherwise." Hannah looked stunned and yet, her eyes gave way that she understood. All the lies had been for the right reasons. She stood silently, only pausing to brush a hand against Kirk's hair, a sign of reassurance. He trusted Hannah and now she trusted him even more. She glided from the room, pulling the door shut behind herself. Only after the click of the lock echoed, did Spock speak, drawing Kirk's attention.

"Captain, please let me check your wounds." Kirk relented, closed his eyes and tugged off his shirt. He was not prepared for the soft breath that his first sucked in upon seeing the wounds to his captain. He felt the bed dip as Spock settled down next to him, the electric tingle of hands drifting an inch off his skin. Spock's hand followed the patterns of bruising down his arm, from where he'd been thrown around like a rag doll, to the lacerations across his back.

"This one is fresh.." Spock murmured, following the red scab down across his back.

"Yeah, day before I signed on for house duty. Guards didn't take to lightly to me being mouthy. In fact they took every chance they got to whip me. Sadistic bastards." Kirk almost jumped when Spock's hand finally touched him, lightly brushing against the wound. He did flinch though. Spock mumbled an apology before he shuffled around in the med kit to produce a bandage tape and a pair of scissors. He measured the wound, cut the tape cleanly then prepared to apply it. With accuracy and delicacy that only Vulcan hands could achieve, he slowly pressed down the bandage along the wound. Every time Kirk felt pain, the Vulcan knew and paused, waiting for it to pass before he continued. He was grateful the man was telepathic in the sense he knew when it was okay to move without asking. Spock's hand smoothed out the last of the tape, the wound completely covered. Kirk sighed with relief.

"Is it over?"

"Provided you have no infectious wounds?"

"I think I would have noticed by now."

"It is over then." Kirk tugged his shirt back on, shifting more carefully as to not jerk the bandage.

"Thank you Spock. God I missed you."

"You are welcome. Now we must discuss the plan as to your rescue. Time is short and Mr Scott is waiting for our signal."

"Wait what?"

"My job was to locate you and have Mr Scott transport you back aboard the _Enterprise_ at the first arisen chance. This planet does not have shield therefore it is as simple as beaming you and I out. Then he will retrieve the rest of the crew when they give the signal."

"Spock I can't..."

"Captain, your safety is the most important thing here."

"Spock you haven't seen those mines, I can't let those people continue to live here under that mans rule."

"It is illogical for you to stay here, you are underweight, sleep deprived and mentally exhausted."

"Those people will die if I don't do something." Kirk was fighting not to raise his voice and alert the guards.

"You will die and I cannot allow that."

"I'm not leaving hundreds of innocent people here to slave and die." He snapped, surging to his feet to face down the Vulcan. Spock paused and took a half step back.

"Jim.." His voice was soft. "...Please. We have risked so much just to find you." Kirk stiffened his back.

"The needs of the many-"

"Jim don't."

"- _outweigh_ the needs of the few..." He looked to Spock expectantly.

"Or the one.." Spock sighed. "It is unpleasant to hear you use my philosophy against me."

"Suck it up. Now, let's figure out how we can help these people."

"Very well captain."

____________________

"You want to do _what_?"

"Uhura, keep your voice down." Sulu tried to calm her, but she tore her arm from his clutches. Kirk drew back a few paces as she advanced on him.

"Do you know how long it took for us to get here? Do you know what will happen if this plan falls through? We are beaming your sorry ass back up to the _Enterprise_ right now so McCoy can beat some sense into you before _I_ do." She poked his chest hard, forcing him back another step.

"I can't leave them Uhura, they don't deserve to be working in such a place."

"Nyota, it would be unwise to try and argue with the captain, his mind is made. We must now plan and prepare to take down this mine and free the slaves."

"You're siding with him?" Uhura questioned. "After all the illogicalness that got us here your willing to continue being extremely illogical."

"The captain won't be swayed, believe me, I tried." The rest of the crew members sighed from various parts of the room. They had convened in Sulu and Uhura's room, but the meeting was more difficult than he'd imagined it going.

"I'm not leaving this planet without doing something to help them. Even if it's just giving them the means to bring down Garot."

"Alright so...how?" He could practically hear the sigh of resign in her voice. Kirk grinned.

"I've got a plan, but it's going to take all of you to work." They all huddled in to listen closely to his hair brained idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I may have started a prequel/companion piece to this set in the TOS universe and I'm curious if I should post it and if anyone would be interested in reading it?


	12. Chapter 12

The plan was to be set into motion the next day. For now, they returned to their respective rooms, intending to rest. Spock tried to insist that Kirk take the bed, but he wasn't having any of it. If the guards found him in the bed he would be beaten, and there would be no saving him this time. They'd had it out for him since the beginning. When the Vulcan relented, he set himself down on the floor beside the bed. Whether it was intentional or not, Spock's hand dangled off the side of the bed, right next to Kirk's. For a moment he just stared at it, then gently brushed against it. Immediately Spock's hand closed around his own. Something about the touch gave him a sense of comfort and it was enough to lull him under into the best sleep he'd had in three months.

The next morning he was no longer holding the hand, but the feeling still lingered in his mind and in his palm. If Spock still felt it, he didn't mention it as he rose. Kirk hurried down to the kitchen to fetch his breakfast, then bring back up several trays for his crew. He delivered Chekov's and Victoria's first, making sure to sneak in something sweet for the children. Then he took Spock his specially prepared vegetarian meal, though Spock refused and tried to make Kirk eat it instead. They were in the middle of arguing, when Hannah dropped in.

"You have survived on barely any nutrition, you need this more than I."

"And I'm telling you I've gotten used to being constantly starving. Besides I'm more than likely to just throw it back up."

Hannah knocked on the doorframe, drawing their attention.

"Apologies for interrupting your row, but my father would like to know if Spock would like to view the library." Spock glanced at Kirk, who gave a nod.

"I would be highly interested if our host would show me the mines Miss Hannah. If you could relay that to him please."

"Very well but...what are you planning?" Kirk shook his head. The less she knew, the safer she was. "Tiberius, it will be suspicious if you were to separate from Mr Spock as you are assigned to him." She had a point there.

"You will have to accompany me to the mines Jim, or else they will suspect us." Spock didn't look too please about their plan backfiring like that. He hadn't considered that factor.

"Unless you order me to be here Hannah." Kirk suggested, turning to her.

"I'm afraid not captain, I vouched for you to be his personal attendant, I cannot call you away without suspicion."

"Damn...."

"Captain, may I suggested Skon taking your place?"

"Yes that would work." He rounded to Hannah. "Get Skon a big bowl of soup on a tray and tell him to wait by the main stairwell. He's quick on the uptake, he'll know what to do with Uhura is unleashed."

"I worry for this plan of yours."

"Just trust me. When it works your dad will be shitting bricks."

 

Kirk was right behind Spock all the way, as Garot and several guards led them from the house, down the narrow fenced path to the elevator. Even without touch him, he could tell from the subtitle clues the Vulcan gave off, he was distressed at the sight of hundreds of people in rags. When no one was watching, Kirk brushed his hand against Spock's, like he had last night. His only reaction was to steel his gaze and attempt to seem fascinated by what Garot was saying. Kirk know Spock would have had the man on the floor already for this kind of treatment. They were stuck for the moment though, having to play along. The elevator reached the bottom and Garot let Spock off first.

One of the guards pushed Kirk and he stumbled. Instinctively Spock reached out and caught him, putting him upright again. He turned his gaze on the guard.

"He can walk without your unnecessary prodding." He snapped sharply before turning back to start off after Garot. The guard glared at Kirk as he hurried after Spock.

"So as you can see it's a tight operation here. The guards keep the slaves in line and they work from dawn till dusk. They get watered every couple of hours and bathed every few months. Typical miner operation, wouldn't you agree?" Garot turned to Spock, who simply nodded curtly. He led them down the winding path into the mine, chattering away loudly and annoyingly. Only once they had reached the bottom did Kirk nudge Spock, the signal to begin the plan. Spock stepped up behind one of the guards, who was currently whipping one of the slaves, and grabbed his shoulder. The man fell, silent shock on his face. The other guards were left stunned for a moment as Kirk flicked open the communicator.

"Now Scotty!"

Six security guards materialised around him. The guards seemed to snap back into it and the fight began. Spock grabbed Kirk before he could enter the fray, reminding him he was still rather weak. Another team beamed down and began assisting. Soon enough the guards and Garot were secure and tied down.

"What the hell is this!" Garot demanded. Kirk shook off Spock's arm and marched over to in front of the man.

"Garot, you're under arrest for the illegal buying and selling of slaves, forced labor, underpaid workers, and a whole lot more serious breaches to Federation Law."

"The federation isn't here you fool!"

"Incorrect." Spock stepped up beside Kirk. "This man is not Tiberius, father of Vulcan children. He is Captain James T Kirk of the starship _Enterprise_. You unlawfully have abused and injured a member of Starfleet and therefore will be charged accordingly by our laws."

Garots jaw worked uselessly and Kirk was pleased to see the man so stunned and silent. Made for a nice change.

"Spock, get the keys, let's get these prisoners up to the house and to Bones."

"Yes Captain." Spock complied, taking the keys from the guards and distributing them to members of security. Kirk knelt down in front of Garot.

"A _starship captain_? You're barely a _boy_!"

"And yet I've still seen more of space than you." He patted the side of Garots face condescendingly. "Two of you grab him and come with me, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov should be about done now." He stood. "Spock! Join us at the house when you're done."

The Vulcan waved a hand in response to show he'd heard. The two guards grabbed Garot and dragged him along as Kirk led them out of the mine and back to the house. Uhura and the others had made short work of the guards inside, tying them together in sets of two in the main room. Garots wife and Hannah were on their knees, Chekov hovering over them.

"Let Hannah up." Kirk ordered as they entered, Garot being placed beside his wife.

"Hannah! You betray us! Your parents!?" Her mother hissed as Victoria helped Hannah to stand.

"It is better this way, this is no way to treat people and I am ashamed to be your daughter." She turned his nose up at them, moving over to Kirk.

"Tiberius!" Kirk turned to the voice as Tidus came rushing in with the first group of freed slaves. Kirk grinned and caught the offered hand.

"Actually, my names Jim. Jim Kirk. These people are members of my crew." He rushed through a hasty explanation of what had transpired, catching the man up to speed. Tidus seemed to understand well enough.

"I am glad you are unhurt."

"The same to you Tidus."

"Captain," Kirk turned to Spock. "Shall I call for Dr McCoy?"

"Yeah, better get him down here to assess these people. Tell him to bring as many nurses as he can as well." Spock nodded and turned away, pulling out his communicator. Kirk turned back to Hannah and Tidus. He clapped them on a shoulder each.

"I'm leaving the care of this planet to you two. I trust you can handle it better. Make a profit off this mine and do it for good this time. I trust both of you can." Tidus grinned, patting Kirk's hand.

"We will my friend. I wish you safe travels."

"Thank you." He released Tidus so he could help oversee the guards and Garot down into the cells. "Hannah."

"Captain, I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for our home."

"If it wasn't for my crew it wouldn't have happened at all."

"Never the less you continue to show you were born to lead. Born to do great good in this world." She tugged off a necklace from around her neck and pressed it to his hand. "Take this, as a reminder of this good you spread."

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking down at the small crystal wrapped carefully in wire and then strung onto the leather cord. He caught her eye and sighed. "Thank you Hannah, for looking after myself and T'Koric and Skon. We are very grateful for your care and support."

"It was my pleasure Captain Kirk." She smiled warmly, closing his hand around the pendant. Somehow he knew the Vulcan had appeared beside him, watching the proceedings. Then he felt slightly light headed all of a sudden, hands grabbed him and hoisted him back upright. Then the lights went out. When he came to he was in sickbay, Spock and Victoria on either side of him, playing chess over his legs.

"Would you hurry up and move already?"

"Patience is key."

"Well you can shove that key up your-"

"Would you two hobgoblins shut it!"

Kirk laughed at Bones, alerting the two Vulcans to his condition.

"Jim!" Victoria bounced and planted a kiss on his cheek. "We were wondering when you'd wake."

"Yeah, passed out from excitement." He chuckled, trying to sit up. Spock then rose to help, stuffing a pillow behind his back to prop him up.

"Dr McCoy seems to think it was the mixture of dehydration, hunger and lack of natural fats."

"Of course. How long am I confined to medical?"

"As long as I damn say so." Bones appeared in the doorway, looking ragged. "I don't care if I have to post guards on you, you are not leaving until I'm content with your health."

 

Bones's say so still took around four days. Even then he wanted to keep him under surveillance for longer, but he knew Kirk would start getting desperate to escape. So he allowed him to return to his room to rest, having gotten him back onto actual food instead of a drip tube. He settled at his desk, wishing he could just dig straight into a big shepard's pie. Bones had ordered him on a smaller diet first, to build back up to eating like a regular person again. Unless he wanted to risk being sick and ruining what progress he'd made over his days in medical. And he really didn't want to wind back up under Bones watchful eye. At least in his room he could sneak in a cup of coffee and a snack. There came a knock at the door and he choked on his cookie. Hastily he tried to cough to dislodge it. He managed to say 'come in' with his mouthful before he swallowed the cookie. He sighed, visibly relaxing when he saw it wasn't Bones.

"Spock, what's up?" The Vulcan entered, the door sliding shut behind him.

"Doctor McCoy said you had returned to your quarters. I thought I might check on you to make sure you were following the diet he gave you." He motioned to Kirk's face. Kirk hurriedly wiped the evidence. He leaned back in his seat.

"There...was something else I wished to discuss with you." Spock continued, however, Kirk stood suddenly.

"There's something I need to say as well. But by all means, you go first." The man hesitated, his face and tips of his ears ringing green as he found a very interesting piece of carpet to stare at.

"Captain...Jim...there have been several instances recently whereby our hands have...touched. Briefly even so but still touched." Kirk shrugged a bit, wondering what was so wrong with that. "Touching hands is seen as a sign of affection to Vulcans. It is..akin to a...kiss," He sounded like he almost choked on the word. "In your human terms."

Suddenly, a few things clicked into place. Why he'd been so flustered that time he'd placed his hand on Kirk's in the observation deck, the night they slept on the bed and floor, hands clasped. And then when they'd visited that horrible mine, he'd only done it to try and calm the Vulcan. He hadn't realised. Now all the memories of all the times their hands had touched came flooding in and he took a half step back.

"Oh god.." Kirk croaked out, putting a hand on the side of his face. "Spock I'm sorry I didn't-"

"It is understandable captain, you could not have known."

Soft unexplained kisses between an unsuspecting human and a well knowledgeable Vulcan. And he already had an answer for as to why the man had let them continue to this point. He recalled that moment, under the tree. Spock's words still resonated with him even now. An easy smile found its way onto his face.

"Spock, I....before I was taken, there was something I wanted to tell you-"

"Jim, I cannot deny my feelings for you any longer." The green in Spock's face only seemed to deepen. Kirk raised a hand.

"When you spoke to Victoria about your affections for me...I was on the other side of the tree Spock, I heard every word." The Vulcan flushed as Kirk surged to hug him tightly. He reciprocated the hug, arms sliding around Kirk's waist, head finding rest upon his shoulder. Kirk rubbed circles into his back, enjoying the tickling chill sent down his spine whenever Spock breathed on his neck.

"What do we do now?" He murmured in an undertone into the pointed ear right next to his lips. A hand slowly slid across his, sliding elegant long fingers between his own.

"Would you like a game of chess?" Spock blurted out, seeming to be a little out of it. Perhaps it was all the exposure to Kirk's emotions, or even his own. Kirk grinned.

"Of course." He released the man, allowing him to take a few shaky steps backwards before he retreated through their shared bathroom. Kirk settled himself at the table, able to keep the smile off his face. He'd confessed to Spock and the man hadn't suddenly turned him away, hadn't scorned him. He felt the same way. They really were one hell of a team, unshakable. Provided his knees would stop jiggling. Spock returned with the chess set in hand, setting it up on the table between them. Kirk's eyes adamantly found watching the Vulcans hands as he delicately worked, to coin a phrase, fascinating. Such skill and precision made him wonder just what else the hands could achieve. He hurriedly slammed down that thought. The last thing he needed was the man catching wind of it through a brief touch.

Instead he held his legs down forcefully, clutching his knees, as Spock rested his hands in front of him.

"Shall I go first Jim?"

"If you please."

Four moves in Kirk could tell Spock's mind was not completely in the game. Every so often he caught the eyes of the man watching him. But for a change it was not reading him, trying to guess is next ridiculous move. No. They were the eyes of a man taking in the splendour of sight of the creature across from him. He felt the heat creep into his cheeks as he hurriedly moved a pawn, accidentally knocking Spock's bishop to the floor. Apologising, he reached for it, as the Vulcan did the same. Hands brushed for barely an instant. He smirked.

"I just kissed you Spock.." He teased, allowing Spock, who flushed, to pick up the piece and place it back on the board.

"There are other types of kisses, captain."

"A kiss is still a kiss Spock," He continued. "Human or Vulcan. And just for that I'm not going to human kiss you now." Spock's eyebrow shot up.

"That is illogical seeing as now you know that I wish to-"

"I'm gunna drag this out Spock so you can just stop talking logic and move your queen three spaces to the right so I can win this."

"That would also be illogical." He moved a knight instead. "Check."

"What, dragging it out or moving your queen?" Kirk moved his King out of danger.

"Both. I see no reason for you to resist something you also wish for. And to move my queen into the direct path of your knight would be suicide." Spock unfolded his hands for the moment to shift a pawn.

"I don't want to rush into this with you Spock." Kirk admitted openly, settling a knight in the path of Spock's King. "Check."

"I fail to see how a kiss constitutes 'rushing in' Jim." He went to move his King out of danger, however Kirk caught his hand. He knew the man would be able to feel everything rushing around in his head like an ion storm. Understanding blossomed in Spock's eyes.

"You have never been in a long term relationship...and now you are unsure of how to proceed..."

"Without messing things up with you. Usually I'd be all over you by now but...I just....I don't want to come on too strong or too fast. Vulcans are sensitive to that kind of thing aren't they?"

"Jim." Spock's voice had lowered, almost gravely. He twisted their finger tips together tightly, leaning forward onto the table. "Jim, there is no need to be afraid." Spock rose and shifted around the table so he was in front of Kirk. He pressed their toes together, taking his other hand and pulling Kirk to his feet. Knees kissed, chests bumped lightly, and there was little room left between their faces. Kirk was left gaping slightly at how beautiful the Vulcan truly was this close up. Spock brushed his nose against Kirk's.

"We can take it slow.." He promised softly, his nose drifting across Kirk's cheek as he tilted his head. Kirk shifted his own, preparing to meet his lips. He could almost taste the man's soft breath. And then the comm buzzed and the moment was suddenly broken, Kirk snapping out of his almost drunken haze to move and flick it on. Bones's cranky voice drifted out.

"You damn well better be keeping to your diet Jim. If I come down there and find you've replicated anything but healthy foods I'm going to confine you to sickbay for a _week_."

"You made your point in Sickbay, no need to nag me."

"Yeah well someone needs to keep your body from giving out and it ain't gunna be you."

"Goodnight Bones." Kirk cut him, sighing and turning back, expecting to find Spock still there. But the Vulcan had escaped, presumably to his own quarters. The chess set still lay on the table. Admittedly he was disappointed but it couldn't be helped. Maybe it had been too much strong emotion for him to handle in one night. So he started his routine for bed, noticing the strange scent of candles from next door, indicating Spock was meditating. He didn't pressure the man for now. Spock would come back in his own time, that much he was sure of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry folks, no kissy kissy yet. Hope you enjoyed the fluff though :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR! Sorry this is so late, Christmas at work was busy, then new year happened and I've been busy ever since. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

When Kirk was finally allowed back on the bridge the next morning, the first thing he did was hail Starfleet command. It was hard to tell whether Admiral Archer was happy to see him alive or not. Either way he got a stern talking to about not having a security attachment with him to prevent the starship captain being kidnapped. Spock stood behind him, about to open his mouth and claim it fault of his own for leaving his captain, but Kirk cut him off, hearing the words coming before he could even voice them. The only person to blame was himself for getting separated from help.

"Dr McCoy requested for the crew to have a minor shore leave while I'm still recovering. Lt. Uhura has located a class M planet that's supposedly uninhabited by any kind of people. It would be perfect for us to recuperate after this three month ordeal."

"Very well Kirk, take a couple of days and then get back to your mission. We'll be waiting here for your return. Archers out."

The view screen went blank and Kirk leaned back in his seat. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to find Spock. After last nights confession it was a little strange to see him again. He hadn't mentioned anything of it, but the causal touch gave him hope.

"Dr McCoy will be pleased to know the break has been approved."

"Yeah..." He patted Spock's hand. "Mr Chekov, head a course for, what was the planet name again Uhura?"

"Ynval three sir."

"You heard the lady, Ynval three, warp factor five Mr Sulu."

"Aye Kaptain."

"Yes sir."

Kirk grinned up at Spock, before he tapped into the conn.

"Bridge to Victoria."

"Victoria here, what's up Jim?"

"Tell the children to start preparing, we arrive at a rather nice planet in about four hours and from what I hear it'll be perfect for a picnic."

"Yes sir!" He could hear the excitement in her voice through the conn. "The children already have a list of personal they would like to invite, should I go get it and read it to you?"

"I'm surprised they haven't tried to invite everyone on board."

"Oh they did try, believe me, but I managed to persuade them someone needed to run the ship. But I did figure it out that if we went for around six point five hours everyone can take turns of spending time on the surface at the picnic."

"You truly have the brains of a Vulcan." Kirk chuckled.

"Ugh, don't say that too loudly."

"Why don't you send the list through to Spock and he'll make sure everyone the children want there are notified."

"Okie dokie!" With a click she was gone and a message beeped up on Spock's padd, which was laying on his desk. Spock moved over to retrieve it, flicking through it. It didn't take long to send out the messages to the members of staff on the list, the rest of the four hours spent making sure that all the parties would be ready to beam down in order. Then there was organising the children and the things they wanted to pack. Kirk was happy to help with packing the food. After the diet he'd been on, he was looking forward to this. First they sent down a small security detachment, just to be safe. When they messaged back the okay, the first party went down, consisting of the four Vulcans, Kirk and McCoy. Only when the rest of the children had been beamed down did they begin.

They found a lovely meadow, with barely a tree in sight, aside from the large oak the children insisted on setting up under. Several large mats had to be laid down firstly, the security detail happy to help out. Even McCoy was helping, though grumpy as usual. As they worked, the party members started arriving. First came the remainder of his senior staff, Scotty with Keenser in tow, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura. Then came the odd staff members from all sections. Kirk had to wonder if some of these people had even ever met before. It was a huge ship after all. Victoria took to stand, passing around baskets to be unpacked. The Vulcan children had settled themselves with the senior staff, the other children scattered among the masses.

Kirk stretched out his legs, grinning as he watched the festivities. McCoy had approved his sandwich, so long as he didn't eat too fast. So he took it slow, savouring every bite. Finally Victoria fell to sit in between Spock and Kirk.

"The kids insisted on making the sandwiches themselves," She said proudly, pinching one off Spock's plate. He raised an eyebrow to her, but didn't comment.

"So that's why there's ones with just lettuce in them..." McCoy complained with a frown, looking at the sandwich he'd just picked up.

"Those ones are for those who don't eat meat, like the Vulcan kids," Victoria said with a shrug.

"It's weird you not being a tree hugger like the rest of them." Three sets of Vulcans eyes snapped to the doctor. Victoria and Kirk laughed.

"Oh stop it Bones. Relax a little, this is the break you asked for isn't it?" Kirk smacked him on the shoulder.

"I thought we'd go to a space station, not spent it on some uninhabited planet, which by the way could have plenty of infectious diseases, eating sandwiches." He grumbled, biting into his lettuce sandwich. He chewed thoughtfully. "I was mistaken, this has some kind of mayonnaise in it, it's not just lettuce."

"Oh do you like mayonnaise Doctor?" Victoria asked with a grin.

"No. I hate it even more than lettuce." Their particular group burst out into laughter.

________________________

The sun rolled on into a lazy afternoon. The children convinced the staff into a game of hide and seek. Only a few were not swayed, including Dr McCoy and Spock. The rest however were happily on their feet. Several months in space, they were looking for a break on solid ground for a change. As they played, McCoy settled back on his elbows, complaining mildly about his back. Spock stretched then crossed his legs, like he intended to meditate.

"I've got a question for you Spock." McCoy broke through his thoughts before he could fully sink in.

"What is it Doctor?"

"That Victoria girl. I saw what she did, stole that sandwich right off your plate. Now if I remember correctly you wouldn't even let Uhura do that when you two were dating."

"Your point being?"

"That girl is special to you and you won't admit it. Just like you won't admit it to Jim."

"On the contrary, Jim and I have moved past that. Last night we-"

"Alright! I don't wanna hear it." McCoy cut him off, covering his ears as best he could.

"I was going to say we shared a tender moment doctor. You may remove your mind from the gutter."

"Good, I really don't want to hear about you two doin' it."

"I shall strive never to tell you."

"'ppreciate it hobgoblin." He muttered before digging himself out another sandwich. As Spock watched, Kirk hoisted one of the human girls above his head. She laughed and spread her arms wide as they spun out of control. Kirk was better with children than he ever would be.

"Spock...your nose is bleeding." He snapped back into reality and touched just above his lip. McCoy was correct, his nose was bleeding. McCoy offered him a napkin, which he took and wiped away the blood. That was odd. Kirk then came over, collapsing into Spock's lap, his back against Spock's chest. McCoy made a sound like throwing up and shoved another sandwich in his mouth.

"Captain the crewmen are watching.." Spock reminded carefully as Kirk pulled his arms around him.

"Ah, let 'em watch. It's not going to stay secret for very long after all. We spend a lot of time with these people, they deserve to know. And I thought I told you to call me Jim." Spock relented with a sigh, nuzzling the side of Kirk's neck gently. Kirk chuckled and knotted their fingers together.

"You two are disgusting.." McCoy grumbled with a shake of his head. "But so long as your happy, fuck 'em who say otherwise."

"Spock, I think McCoy just complimented us, better get the camera." Kirk joked.

"It is quite the momentous occasion." Spock's lip quirked up. McCoy frowned and then shoved himself to his feet.

"I'm going back to sickbay if you two are going to sass me." He said, starting to march off. Victoria came running over with a laugh.

"Are you leaving Dr McCoy?"

"I can't be around these lovebirds for too long." Victoria followed the thumb he jerked at Spock and Kirk. She grinned.

"Thank you for coming though!" She surged forwards, wrapping the man in a tight hug. He patted her on the back.

"What did you do to your nose girl?," he demanded suddenly, tilting her head back to examine her.

"Oh Pavel hit me in the face by accident while we were wrestling, it bled a little but I'm fine, one of the security guys had a hankie on him."

"Once your done down here come up to sickbay and I'll give it a better look over alright? Last thing you need is a broken nose not set right. Promise me?" He held out his pinky finger. Victoria frowned, but took it with her own.

"Alright, I'll see you up in sickbay. Just don't make me sit there for hours again."

"You'll sit there for as long as I say so." He ruffled her hair then pulled out his communicator. She flattened her fringe back out before skipping over to Spock and Kirk.

"What was that?" Kirk asked as she plonked herself down next to them.

"Oh when you were gone and Spock was busy, I would spent a lot of time in sickbay with Dr McCoy. He says he tolerated me but I think he quite enjoyed my company."

"You'd be around the same age as his daughter Joanna." Kirk commented with a small smile.

"I figured he had family at some point, the ring on his pinky. I'm guessing from a previous marriage."

"Yeah...don't ever ask about the ex-wife, even I don't ask."

"I'll remember that."

"Your nose bled?" Spock cut in suddenly, drawing looks from both Kirk and Victoria.

"Uh, yeah, Pavel hit me in the face. I have really bad blood vessels and I often get nose bleeds when I get struck there, even if it's not so bad.." She explained, confused.

"You should be more careful Miss Victoria." Spock said, his voice unreadable.

__________________

The picnic rolled up not long after that, the children going back with adults of their choice. Terry was attached at the hip to Scotty, who seemed to be explaining some advanced engineering to the fourteen year old. Kirk had no doubt someday he'd end up an engineer on a starship. Victoria took the two Vulcan children with her, while Spock and Kirk beamed up with the last of the security detail. They would stay in orbit for the next few days, should anyone else want to beam down for a break. Hand in hand with Spock, Kirk made his way back to his room. Their room now. Even Vulcans needed some R and R with their partners. Kirk reclined on the bed as he waited for Spock to return from getting changed.

When Spock did return, Kirk let out a small laugh. There was no regulations on wearing the uniform sleepwear, but he shouldn't have been surprised to know that Spock slept in it. He reached out to lightly tug at the end of Spock's shirt, raising an eyebrow.

"It is comfortable captain."

"It's Jim Spock. Leave that captain stuff for the bridge."

"Jim. Would it be permissible for me to sleep in your quarters tonight?"

"I figured that was a given considering your already in your pyjamas and here." He smirked.

"I merely changed for the sake of habit." Spock sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning a hand over to brush some of Kirk's hair back. Kirk smiled then shifted over so the Vulcan could lay down beside him. For a moment they lay on their backs side by side.

"You know, I've been thinking...what are we going to do about the children?"

"Jim?"

"I mean, we have to get them to their homes somehow, I'm sure most of them have families waiting for them. Maybe we can get in contact with Starfleet on our way home, have them organise people to come retrieve them and take them home."

"That would be the most logical course. I shall personally arrange transport for T'Koric, Skon and Victoria." Kirk turned to prop himself up on one elbow, looking to Spock. "They belong on New Vulcan Jim. They will be well cared for and be among their people."

Kirk twisted his fingers.

"I was actually hoping to talk to you about them. Spock, I was thinking about adopting them." Spock sat up. "This was well before I knew your feelings for me, it was a personal decision then but now it has to be a discussion because God do I care about you and I care about them." Spock sighed heavily, reaching out to touch Kirk's face lightly.

"Jim-"

"They're orphans Spock, all three of them, they have no one to go back to."

" _They belong on New Vulcan Jim_." Spock repeated, more forcefully than the first time. "These children are not humans, they need their own people. The council would not allow a human to adopt them."

"But I have you, you can be their teacher, their father."

"Jim." The harshness in his tone stopped Kirk in his tracks. "They are not ours. There are so few of us left I...I will not risk them. They belong on a planet where they will be safe and protected, not in a starship. Jim, they belong with other Vulcans like them."

Kirk sighed and looked away.

"I guess you're right..." Kirk muttered, laying a hand over Spock's. "I still don't like it though."

"Parting is such sweet sorrow.." The Vulcan murmured, placing his other hand so he was cradling his face.

"Shakespeare, Spock? I'm impressed."

"It is not easy for myself either Jim, I will miss them too."

"An emotion! I think I may have to record this moment for later...examination."

Spock raised an eyebrow at him in his typical fashion. Kirk simply laughed and nuzzled into the Vulcan, who he swore sighed, and wrapped his arms around him.


End file.
